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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  • Sex in the 90s: 1998 National Survey of Americans on Sex and Sexual Health

    Poll Finding

    This survey takes an in-depth look at Americans' attitudes about sex and sexual health issues in the 90s, including sex education, sex in the media, sexually transmitted disease and unintended pregnancy, and how we talk (or not) about sexual issues with children and partners. TOPLINE Download

  • Sex in the 90s: 1998 National Survey of Americans on Sex and Sexual Health – Toplines/Survey

    Other Post

    Sex In The 90s:Kaiser Family Foundation/ABC Television 1998 National Survey of Americans on Sex and Sexual Health Methodology:The Kaiser Family Foundation and ABC Television 1998 National Survey of Americans on Sex and Sexual Health is a random-sample telephone survey of 1,204 adults 18 and older living in the United States. It was designed by staff at the Foundation and Princeton Survey Research Associates (PSRA) and conducted by PSRA between April 24 and May 10, 1998.…

  • Summary of Findings: Privatization of Public Hospitals

    Poll Finding

    This Summary presents background, findings, and data from the Economic and Social Research Institute's (ESRI) full report, Privatization of Public Hospitals. Section I provides background about public hospital conversions, including the role of public hospitals, reasons for conversion, the mechanisms of conversion and new ownership entities, and analysis of national and regional public hospital data. Section II provides a discussion of the five case studies of public hospital conversions and the key findings from the…

  • Kaiser/Harvard Health News Index, July/August 1998

    Poll Finding

    Health News Index July/August, 1998 The July/August 1998 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including questions about Patients' Rights and Medicare. The survey is based on a national random sample of 1,200 Americans which measures public knowledge of health stories covered by the news media during the previous month. The Health News Index is designed to help the news media and people…

  • Kaiser Family Foundation/National Association of Black Journalists 1998 National Survey on Blacks, Media & Health

    Report

    A national survey of 800 African Americans, plus an additional general population sample of 800 Americans, examining perceptions about the media's coverage of health issues that most concern and impact African Americans. This survey was conducted jointly by the Foundation and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) for presentation at the NABJ's annual conference being held in Washington, DC on Friday, July 31st, 1998. TOPLINE Download CHARTPACK Download NEWS RELEASE Download

  • Kaiser Family Foundation 1998 National Survey on Insurance Coverage of Contraceptives – News Release

    Other Post

    Americans Support Requiring Insurers To Cover Contraceptives, Even If Premiums Rise. More Women and Men Say Contraceptives Should Be Covered Than Say Viagra Embargoed for release until: 9:30 AM, ET, Friday, June 19, 1998 For further information contact: Tina Hoff or Matt James Menlo Park, CA - Most Americans support requiring insurers to provide contraceptives as part of prescription coverage, even if premiums rise, according to a new national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.…

  • The Kaiser/Harvard Health News Index, May/June 1998

    Poll Finding

    Health News Index May/June, 1998 The May/June 1998 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including questions about Viagra and Social Security. The survey is based on a national random sample of 1,202 Americans conducted June 12-18, 1998 which measures the public's knowledge of health stories covered in the news media during the previous month. The Health News Index is designed to help…

  • What’s the Diagnosis? Latinos, Media & Health

    Report

    Three reports examining how health issues are handled by the Latino-oriented media today and how Latinos use the media as an information source on health issues. The three new studies were released at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) conference. The studies are also available separately: A National and Three Region Survey of Latinos on the Media and Health, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates (#1410), A Study of Health Coverage in Latino Newspapers,…

  • 1998 National Survey of Latinos on HIV/AIDS – Report (HTML version)

    Report

    1998 National Survey of Latinos on HIV/AIDSThis Report is also available in PDF in English (.pdf) en Espanol (.pdf) CONTENTS Introduction The Latino Population in the United States Epidemiology and Transmission of HIV/AIDS The Health Gap and Access to Care Latino's Perceptions of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Methodology Findings Language and Perceptions of HIV/AIDS Regional Location and Perceptions of HIV/AIDS among Latinos Income, Education and Attitudes Towards/Knowledge of HIV/AIDS Among Latinos Religion and Perceptions of HIV/AIDS among Latinos…