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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  • Workers Are More Likely to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine When Their Employers Encourage It and Provide Paid Sick Leave, Though Most Workers Don’t Want Their Employers to Require It

    News Release

    A Third of Parents with Kids Ages 12-17 Report Their Kids Are Now Vaccinated; Most Parents Oppose Mandatory Vaccinations for School Children As more employers return to in-person work, the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report shows that workers are more likely to have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine when their employer encourages it or provides paid sick leave to get the vaccine and recover from side effects. About two-thirds of workers report that their employer…

  • KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: June 2021

    Poll Finding

    This report shows a slowdown in self-reported COVID-19 vaccination rates, with 65% of adults saying in June that they’ve gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The report also examines the role of employers in encouraging and incentivizing workers to get vaccinated and parents' vaccine intentions for their children.

  • Poll: Few are Aware of Hospital Price Transparency Requirements

    News Release

    Few Americans realize that starting this year hospitals are required to post prices of common health services on their websites in a format patients can access and use, data from the KFF Health Tracking poll shows. Federal regulations that took effect January 1 require this price transparency for hospitals to allow patients to compare prices across hospitals and “shop” for lower-price care. The new survey data finds that 9% of adults nationwide are aware that…

  • June 18 Web Event: Asian Immigrant Experiences with Racism, Immigration-related Fears, and the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Event Date:
    Event

    While the country has collectively experienced health and economic difficulties with the COVID-19 pandemic, certain groups have experienced a disproportionate impact. The Asian American community has had to cope with the burden of pandemic-related racism and, as one of the fastest growing immigrant communities in the nation, immigration-related fears due to policy and regulatory action of recent years. Yet, there is often limited data and focus on the experiences of the expanding Asian immigrant community.…

  • Survey and Event Examine Experiences and Concerns of Asian Immigrants During COVID-19 Pandemic and Amid Rising Incidents of Anti-Asian Hate Crimes

    News Release

    A KFF survey of Asian patients at four community health centers serving a predominantly Asian, low-income population finds a third (33%) of them have felt more discrimination based on their race/ethnicity since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Respondents, 80% of whom were born outside the U.S., reported a range of negative experiences including receiving poorer service in public settings, being denied employment and/or housing, and being verbally or physically attacked. Asian Immigrant Experiences with Racism, Immigration-related…

  • KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: Profile Of The Unvaccinated

    Poll Finding

    This report explores the roughly a third of adults who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine and finds that, compared to vaccinated adults, they are younger, more likely to identify as Republican or Republican-leaning, with lower incomes and education levels, and more likely to be uninsured.

  • Who Remains Unvaccinated? A COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor Analysis

    News Release

    As more people across the country get at least an initial dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, public health officials are increasingly trying to reach the shrinking pool of unvaccinated adults – now roughly a third of all adults. The latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report explores this group’s demographic profile and finds that, compared to vaccinated adults, unvaccinated adults are younger and more likely to identify as Republican or Republican-leaning. They also have lower levels…

  • Two-Thirds of the Public Say the U.S. Should Play a Major Role in Distributing COVID-19 Vaccines Globally, But Not Most Republicans

    News Release

    With increased attention to the global need for COVID-19 vaccines and the Biden administration’s announcement today about how it plans to distribute the first portion of the 80 million doses it will share by the end of this month, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds that two-thirds of the public (66%) say that the U.S. should play at least a “major role” in distributing COVID-19 vaccines to other countries, including about a quarter (27%)…