Public Opinion

Health Costs

A Preview of the Role Health Care May Play in the 2026 Election

Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, this KFF issue brief examines the role health care has played in previous elections and what that may suggest about its potential role in 2026. KFF polls have consistently found that the cost of health care is an important part of voters’ economic concerns.

Poll: Prescription Costs Regulation, Affordability and TrumpRx

KFF’s Health Tracking Poll finds that most Americans (59%) are worried about affording prescription drugs and support more regulation of prescription drug pricing (72%). Looking ahead to the midterm elections, the Democratic party currently holds the advantage for who voters trust to address health costs, including prescription drugs.

ACA Marketplace Survey Feature Image - Website

Survey: ACA Enrollees’ Cost Concerns and Coverage Changes

This follow-up survey of adults who had ACA Marketplace insurance in 2025 examines enrollees' cost concerns and coverage changes after the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits. It finds half of returning enrollees say their health care costs are “a lot higher” and most expect to cut back on basic household expenses to afford coverage.

Health Information and Trust

Dashboard: Polling on Health Information and Trust

Drawing on KFF’s poll findings, this interactive dashboard tracks the public’s trusted sources for health information, attitudes toward vaccines, and use of news, social media, and AI for health-related information.

Recent Polls

The Public’s View of Immigration Enforcement in Health Care Settings

Amid reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at hospitals and President Trump’s reversal of policy protecting “sensitive locations” like hospitals, KFF’s Health Tracking Poll finds that a majority of the public say they are concerned about the Trump administration’s actions in health care settings.

Knowledge and Views of Medication Abortion

This KFF Health Tracking Poll finds that many, including women of reproductive age, remain unfamiliar with key facts about mifepristone. Fewer than half of all adults say they believe abortion pills are safe now, compared to over half of all adults two years ago. This poll explores awareness and perception of the recent FDA review of the medication, and support for policies aimed at restricting it.

KFF-Washington Post Survey Explores Parents’ Trust In, and Confusion About, Childhood Vaccines

The KFF-Washington Post partnership Survey of Parents explores experiences and views pertaining to childhood vaccines. The Survey of Parents also sheds light on school vaccination requirements, views on federal health agencies and policy changes, and the views of parents with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. This poll comes as the Trump administration revamps federal policies, and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to question the childhood vaccine schedule.

KFF/New York Times Survey of Immigrants

KFF-New York Times Survey: Immigrants Report Rising Fear, Negative Economic and Health Impacts, and Changing Political Views During the First Year of President Trump’s Second Term

The 2025 Survey of Immigrants, a partnership between KFF and The New York Times, takes an in-depth look at the experiences of immigrants during the first year of President Trump’s second term, including their worries related to increased immigration enforcement, their health and economic wellbeing, and the political views and preferences of immigrant voters. The survey paints a portrait of families under strain — where fear of detention and economic instability are negatively impacting immigrants’ health and reshaping immigrant families’ daily lives and views of U.S. political parties.

Read the News Release | Explore The New York Times’ Reporting

the essentials

Health Tracking Poll

Our signature survey project provides up-to-date data on the public’s health care views, knowledge, and experiences.

Survey Question Finder

Search all KFF polls since 1992 by keyword and date to find full question wording and results.

Health Information and Trust Tracking Poll

The Health Information and Trust Tracking Poll is part of KFF’s Health Information and Trust Initiative, which tracks health misinformation and analyzes its impact on the public.

Polls in Health Policy

This chapter of our digital “textbook” explores why surveys are essential for understanding health policy issues. 

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  • KFF February Health Tracking Poll: Nearly Half Confused About Status of the Health Reform Law

    Perspective

    The latest Kaiser Health Tracking poll finds that amid a public debate about contraceptive coverage in insurance plans, 63 percent of Americans support a new federal requirement that plans include no-cost birth control, while a third oppose it. Catholics split along similar lines, but there’s a big partisan divide, including among women: 85 percent of women who are Democrats support the requirement, compared with 42 percent of women who are Republicans. The public is also divided…

  • Policy and Political Implications of the Supreme Court Case on the Affordable Care Act

    Event Date:
    Event

    This webcast features a Kaiser Family Foundation briefing held on March 14, 2012, examining the policy and political implications of the pending U.S. Supreme Court case on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). At the briefing, the Foundation released new polling data on the public’s views about the case as well as their more general views about the health reform law. Participants included: Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman (moderator)Joe Onek, Principal, The Raben Group Sheila…

  • January 2012 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: The ACA and the Supreme Court

    Perspective

    As the Supreme Court prepares to hear legal challenges to the health reform law in March, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll shows that most Americans (59 percent) expect the Justices to base their ruling on their own ideological views rather than their interpretation of the law (28 percent). As for the public’s views on the individual mandate, the poll once again shows that it continues to be unpopular with the public (67 percent unfavorable versus…

  • Black Women in America

    Poll Finding

    The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation partnered to conduct a survey examining the opinions of black women around the nation on a wide range of issues including health care. The survey included a large oversample of African Americans to enable accurate analysis of subgroups of this population. This survey is the 23rd in a series of surveys dating back to 1995 that have been conducted as part of The Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — January 2012

    Feature

    As the Supreme Court prepares to hear legal challenges to the health reform law in March, most Americans expect the Justices to base their ruling on their own ideological views rather than their interpretation of the law, according to the January Health Tracking Poll. Other key findings include: The public doubts the Supreme Court renders judgments based solely on the law. Three-quarters (75%) say they think that, in general, Justices let their own ideological views…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — December 2011

    Poll Finding

    The October downturn in the share of Americans with a favorable view of the health reform law, a dip driven by an erosion of support among Democrats, has been fully reversed in December, with support among Democrats rebounding and overall national opinion on the law returning to the roughly even split seen in Kaiser polls for most of 2011.  The concept of health exchanges, a key piece of the law, has wide, bipartisan support.  The…

  • December Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Public Again Divided on ACA, Independents Polarized, and Exchanges Widely Popular

    Perspective

    According to the December Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, the October downturn in the share of Americans with a favorable view of the health reform law has been fully reversed in December and overall opinion on the law returned to the roughly even split seen for most of 2011. Forty-three percent of Americans expressed unfavorable views of the law in December, while 41 percent had favorable views. Partisan divisions persist and the findings suggest not only…

  • Pulling It Together: Bono, Jon Stewart and the HIV/AIDS Message

    Perspective

    One of the most interesting conversations on a health topic happened recently on The Daily Show between Bono and Jon Stewart. Bono told Stewart that we were "at the beginning of the end of the AIDS epidemic," promising an announcement the next day that would explain how a combination of early treatment, treatment for pregnant women, and circumcision, would turn the epidemic around if the American people would continue to put money into the cause.…

  • Long-Term Unemployed Survey

    Poll Finding

    As the country struggles to recover from the impact of the Great Recession, one much discussed and analyzed economic measure has been the number of Americans who are unemployed. NPR News and the Kaiser Family Foundation partnered on the Long-Term Unemployed Survey to better describe the experiences and views of two groups of individuals: the long-term unemployed (those who have been out of work for a year or more and would prefer to be working)…

  • Pulling it Together: The Most Popular Provision in the ACA?

    Perspective

    In our most recent monthly tracking poll, we asked the American people what elements of the health reform law they like and dislike. Surprisingly, the runaway favorite was a relatively obscure requirement that health plans provide consumers with a short, easy to understand description of their benefits and coverage. Sixty percent of the American people gave this requirement for greater transparency in health insurance benefits a very favorable rating, the only provision in the law…