Public Opinion

HeaLTH in the Midterms

Health Care in the 2026 Midterm Election

This dashboard focuses on KFF’s analysis of the role health care costs and other health policy issues played in voters’ decisions in the 2026 midterm elections, including in key Senate races. It examines the role of rising health costs on voters’ decisions, views on the Trump administration’s health care policies, and opinions on the government’s role in health care amid discussions of Medicare for All.

Abortion on the Ballot in 2026: Polling Insights from Voters in Four States

This dashboard provides KFF’s analysis of the role abortion played in voters’ decisions in the 2026 midterm elections, with a focus on four states with abortion-related ballot measures: Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia. It examines support for each of the measures across groups, including additional questions in Missouri.

What Do the Midterm Election Results Mean for Health Care? 

Event Date:

On November 5 at Noon ET, join KFF for a special post-election discussion and live “What the Health” podcast taping. Part of the discussion will focus on public opinion survey data on how voters weighed health care as they went to the polls nationally and in the four states with abortion-related ballot initiatives. 

Midterm Voters Give Democrats a Big Advantage to Handle Health Care

Quick Insights

KFF’s analysis of the 2026 Voter Poll by SSRS shows midterm voters gave Democrats a 19-percentage-point advantage on which party is better able to handle health care. Voters also gave Democrats a narrow edge on handling the economy (43% vs. 37%), a reversal from 2024, when Trump had a 10-point advantage over Harris. "In an election focused on affordability, Democrats’ messaging on health care costs appears to have resonated with voters and may have contributed to the party’s gains."

KFF/AP Survey of RURAL VOTERS

Health Information and Trust

About Half of Parents Mistakenly Believe Spacing Out Vaccines Is Healthier for Children; Half Say No Strong Evidence to Support Such a Claim

KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Fall 2026 Update on Vaccine Views

The latest KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust finds about half of parents mistakenly believe spacing out vaccines is healthier for children, while confidence in many long-standing childhood vaccines is high across partisans. These findings take on new relevance following President Trump’s recent executive order calling for changes in U.S. childhood vaccine recommendations, including splitting the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine—currently given as a single combined shot—into three separate vaccines across multiple visits.

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.

Health Tracking PollS

Democrats Hold a Nearly 2-to-1 Advantage Over Republicans on Handling the Cost of Health Care

Health Care Issues in the Lead-Up to the 2026 Midterm Election 

In the lead up to the midterms, health care costs remained tied with gas as voters’ top midterm concerns. Two-thirds of U.S. adults also favored Medicare-for-all, a new high in KFF Polling, but support shifts when competing claims from critics and proponents are heard.

Most Democratic Voters Want To Hear Candidates Discuss Health Costs and Future of Health Programs; More Republicans Focused on Fraud

Public Views on Fraud in Health Programs

As the 2026 midterms approach, health care costs remain voters’ top health priority, but fraud in government health programs, including Medicaid and Medicare, is resonating with Republican voters, 55% of whom say it’s extremely important for candidates to address.

Mifepristone and the Midterms

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.

MAHA and the Midterms

This KFF Health Tracking Poll finds that the cost of health care is a more prominent focus for Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) voters than issues like food and vaccine policy. Four in ten MAHA voters (42%) choose lowering health costs as the most important health priority, outranking other MAHA priorities.

the essentials

Health Tracking Poll

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

Tracking the Public’s Views on the ACA

Tracking the Public’s Views on the ACA

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.

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.

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  • Kaiser/Harvard Health News Index January/February 1999

    Poll Finding

    Health News Index January/February, 1999 The January/February 1999 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including questions about the President Clinton's State of the Union Address with special emphasis on his points on Health Care for Seniors and Social Security. The survey is based on a national random sample of 1,200 Americans conducted February 19-25, 1999 which measures public knowledge of health stories…

  • KFF- What Teens Know and Don’t (But Should) About Sexually Transmitted Diseases

    Report

    A random-sample national survey of 400 teens, ages 15 to 17 years old about their awareness of and attitudes toward sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) - focusing primarily on STDs other than HIV/AIDS. The survey was conducted by telephone by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Kaiser Family Foundation, MTV: Music Television and TEEN PEOPLE. TOPLINE Download CHARTPACK Download

  • Post-Election Survey: Priorities for the 106th Congress

    Poll Finding

    A national voter survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health conducted shortly after the November congressional elections in 1998. The purpose is to gauge voters' priorities for the next Congress, both generally and with specific regard to health care issues. The survey also measures voter attitudes on Medicare and HMO reform, proposals to help the uninsured, and abortion. The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. TOPLINE Download CHARTPACK…

  • American Values:  1998 National Survey of Americans on Values

    Poll Finding

    American Values: 1998 National Survey of Americans on Values This set of surveys from the Washington Post/Kaiser/Harvard Survey Project examines social and moral values and their role in Americans' outlook on politics and policy. A portion of the findings from these surveys appeared in the Washington Post on September 11, 1998, commencing a series of occasional articles to be released over a period of eight weeks. The goal of the surveys - and their presentation…

  • Kaiser/Harvard Health News Index, November/December 1998

    Poll Finding

    Health News Index November/December, 1998 The November/December 1998 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Health News Index includes questions about major health issues covered in the news, including questions about the Tobacco Settlement, World AIDS Day and Abortion Clinic Bombings. The survey is based on a national random sample of 1,200 Americans conducted December 8-13, 1998 which measures public knowledge of health stories covered in the news media during the previous month. The Health News…

  • World AIDS Day 1998 – Youth And AIDS

    Fact Sheet

    A summary of findings from the Foundation's survey of teens on HIV, and other relevant facts about how young people are being affected by HIV/AIDS. FACT SHEET Download

  • Fact Sheet: World AIDS Day 1998 – Youth And AIDS

    Other Post

    World AIDS Day 1998: An Update On Youth And HIV New Survey Data On Teens In November 1998, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a survey of 517 teens between the ages of 12 and 17.* The results... What Teens say about HIV/AIDS: Teens express high rates of PERSONAL concern about becoming infected with HIV, higher than adults in the general population. A third are "very concerned" (32%), and 22% are "somewhat concerned" (as compared to…

  • National Survey on Medicare: The Next Big Health Policy Debate? – News Release

    Other Post

    National Survey Suggests Need for Broad Public Debate About Medicare Reform:Americans Know Medicare Faces Problems, But Not Ready To Make Hard Choices Future Options Not Well UnderstoodFew Know About Medicare+Choice Embargoed For Release Until: Noon, Tuesday, October 20, 1998 For further information contact: Matt James or Tina Hoff (650) 854-9400 or Sara Knoll (202) 347-5270 Washington, DC - A new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health highlights the challenges…

  • National Survey on Medicare: The Next Big Health Policy Debate?

    Report

    A survey of Americans on their knowledge and opinions about the proposed options for Medicare reform finds that most Americans know Medicare faces problems, but are not ready to make hard choices and are not well informed on the options, including Medicare+Choice. The Kaiser/Harvard National Survey on Medicare is a product of the Kaiser-Harvard Program on the Public and Health/Social Policy, which regularly conducts surveys on health and other national issues. It was designed and…