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Significant shares of adults with multiple or complex health conditions, including cancer, lung disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mental health conditions say they struggle to pay their medical bills and access needed care and medication. These challenges fall hardest on uninsured adults who face greater costs and access challenges.
In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, KFF’s Founding President and CEO, previews findings about the chronically ill uninsured from a large KFF survey of 25,000 Americans focusing on the cost and access challenges facing the chronically ill, which will be released tomorrow. He writes: “There are more than enough needs to go around in American health care, but if I had to pick the one group that struggles the most with costs and access, it would be people with chronic illnesses who are also uninsured.”
This data note reviews recent KFF polling data about Americans' struggles to afford many aspects of health care, including disproportionate shares of uninsured adults, Black and Hispanic adults, and those with lower incomes.
On August 5, 2026 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first-ever mRNA flu vaccine for adults 50 and older, following a trial of roughly 40,000 people. KFF polling in April 2025 found that most adults ages 50 and older were uncertain whether mRNA vaccines are safe.
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.
LGBTQ+ adults are more likely than others to postpone or skip needed care (58% vs. 38%), forgo prescription medications due to cost (22% vs. 12%), and struggle to pay medical bills (30% vs. 21%). Among LGBTQ+ adults, cost-related challenges are especially high for trans adults, those who are young, those with low incomes, and those who lack health insurance.
Amid an ongoing FDA re-review of mifepristone, awareness of the safety and prevalence of the abortion pill remains limited. This KFF poll also finds that the voters who say abortion policy is an important issue for 2026 midterm candidates to discuss are disproportionately Democrats.
Much of the public has yet to form an opinion on the U.S. government’s response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this poll finds. Four in ten adults say the U.S. is less prepared for a pandemic now than it was in 2020.
About one in eight adults say that they are currently taking a GLP-1 drug either to lose weight or treat a chronic condition, an increase from 18 months ago, though the high costs of the medications remain a concern. Few adults think it is likely their prescription costs will go down as a result of recently announced Trump administration policies.
Our signature survey project provides up-to-date data on the public’s health care views, knowledge, and experiences.
This interactive tool tracks public opinion on the Affordable Care Act, from the inception of the law to the present, including trends based on party identification, income, age, gender, and race/ethnicity.
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.
This chapter of our digital “textbook” explores why surveys are essential for understanding health policy issues.
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
