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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1,801-1,810 of 1,869 results

  • The Kaiser/Harvard Health News Index, November/December 1997

    Poll Finding

    The November/December 1997 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Health News Index includes questions about major health issues covered by news media, including questions about AIDS and the Health Care Bill of Rights. The survey was based on a national random sample of 1,201 Americans conducted December 4-9, 1997 which measures public knowledge of health stories covered in the news media the previous month. The Health News Index is designed to help the news media…

  • Kaiser/Harvard National Survey of Americans’ Views on Managed Care

    Other Post

    Is There A Managed Care "Backlash?" Embargoed for release: 9:30 a.m. ET, Wednesday, November 5, 1997 For further information contact: Matt James or Tina Hoff Most Americans Give Their Own Health Plan A Good Grade, But Have Concerns About Key Aspects Of Managed Care Washington, DC -- At a time of expanding enrollment and stricter federal and state regulation, how does the public feel about managed care? Most insured Americans -- regardless of whether they…

  • Is There Room for Conscience without Compromising Access? Are Affiliations Between Religious and Secular Health Care Organizations Threatening Access?

    Fact Sheet

    These resources were prepared for a briefing held for journalists in New York City on November 4, 1997 in New York City as part of a joint program by The Alan Guttmacher Institute, The Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Press Foundation. This program focused on mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, joint ventures, and other affiliations between Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals and health systems and the effect these affiliations have on access to reproductive health services.

  • Kaiser/Harvard Health News Index, September/October 1997

    Poll Finding

    The September/October 1997 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered by news media, including questions about AIDS, Condoms in Schools and Tobacco Companies. The survey was based on a national random sample of 1,007 Americans conducted October 17-21, 1997 which measures public knowledge of health stories covered in the news media the previous month. The Health News Index is designed to help the news media and…

  • Talking about STDs with Health Professionals: Women’s Experiences

    Other Post

    Now I am going to ask you a series of questions about sexually transmitted diseases other than HIV or AIDS, such as gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, and chlamydia. We want to learn from you how the topic of sexually transmitted diseases, also called STDs, was handled in your visit so that we can help doctors do a better job of addressing STDs with their patients. Again, please remember that your answers to these questions will be…

  • Talking about STDs with Health Professionals: Women’s Experiences – Toplines/Survey

    Other Post

    Talking about STDs with Health Professionals: Women's Experiences Glamour/Kaiser Family Foundation National Survey Methodology Talking about STDS with Health Professionals: Women's Experiences was conducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation and Glamour by Market Facts, Inc. The results are based on telephone interviews conducted between May 27 through June 1, 1997 with a sample of 482 women ages 18-44 who had been to a new doctor within the last year for gynecological or obstetrical care. These…

  • Talking about STDs with Health Professionals: Women’s Experiences – Report

    Report

    Talking About STDs with Health Professionals Women's Experiences More than 12 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) other than HIV/AIDS, including three million among teenagers alone, occur every year. At current rates, at least one person in four will contract an STD at some point in his or her life. With as many as 56 million individuals - more than one in five Americans - estimated to be currently infected with an incurable…

  • Kaiser/Harvard Health News Index, August 1997

    Poll Finding

    The August, 1997 Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Health News Index includes questions about major health issues covered in the news, including questions about the Non-profit and For-profit health care. The survey is based on a national random sample of 1,000 American conducted July 1- 31, 1997. The Health News Index is designed to help the news media and people in the health care field gain a better understanding of which health stories in the news Americans…

  • Contraception in the 90’s:  Which Methods Are Most Widely Used? And, Who Uses What?

    Fact Sheet

    Contraception in the 90's: Which Methods Are Most Widely Used? And, Who Uses What? A fact sheet and resource list on new contraceptive use data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) from a briefing on the topic held in New York City on June 20, 1997. Contraception In The 90s: Which Methods Are Most Widely Used?And, Who Uses What? was co-sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the National Press Foundation and The…

  • Documenting the Power of Television – A Survey of Regular E.R. Viewers about Emergency Contraception

    Poll Finding

    A national random sample telephone survey of 700 regular ER viewers before and after the April 10th episode, featuring a date rape victim who learns that she still has contraceptive options to help prevent pregnancy, even after having unprotected sex. While in the emergency room, she learns that if she takes a heavy dose of regular birth control pills within three days of unprotected sex, she can reduce her chance of becoming pregnant by 75%.…