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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  • Vast Majority of Large Employers Surveyed Say Broader Government Role Will Be Necessary to Control Health Costs and Provide Coverage, Survey Finds

    News Release

    Top executives at nearly 90% of large employers surveyed believe the cost of providing health benefits to employees will become unsustainable in the next five-to-10 years, and 85% expect the government will be required to intervene to provide coverage and contain costs, according to a new survey released today from Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH) and KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), with support from the West Health Institute. The research exposes large employers’ mounting concerns…

  • KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: Vaccine Attitudes Among Essential Workers

    Poll Finding

    This analysis examines the vaccine-related attitudes of non-health essential workers who have been working outside their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. It finds that they are less eager to get a vaccine right away, and a larger share express opposition to employer mandated vaccination.

  • Essential Workers Employed Outside Health Care are Less Enthusiastic about Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine than Other Adults

    News Release

    There has been little research on how essential workers not employed in the health care sector have been impacted by the pandemic and their views on and experiences with COVID-19 vaccines. The latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report finds that this group of workers – roughly 3 in 10 of all adults who have been required to work outside their homes during the pandemic – are less enthusiastic about getting vaccinated than other adults. As…

  • KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: What We’ve Learned

    Poll Finding

    This brief summarizes key findings and themes from the COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor project that is tracking the dynamic nature of the U.S. public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccination, and is based on more than 11,000 interviews conducted since December 2020.

  • Vaccine Monitor: What We’ve Learned

    News Release

    With nearly all states poised to allow anyone at least 16 years old to get a COVID-19 vaccine, this week’s announcement pausing the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to investigate a rare side effect is raising questions about whether and how it will affect the public’s eagerness to get vaccinated. A new report summarizes key insights about vaccine confidence, messages and messengers from the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor project, which has interviewed more…

  • Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Update

    Poll Finding

    The latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor finds that those hardest hit by the mental health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have been younger people and women, including mothers. This analysis of polling data explores who has been hardest hit by mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, how experience with COVID-19 related death and worry about getting sick impact mental health. It also explores problems with access to mental health care and treatment during the…

  • Vaccine Monitor: Women and Younger Adults Hit Hardest by Mental Health Impacts Due to COVID-19

    News Release

    Gender and age differences are revealed in a new analysis that finds nearly seven in ten (69%) young women ages 18 to 29 say the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted their mental health, compared to smaller shares of women who are older and men across all age groups. By mid-2020 about half (53%) of adults reported that worry and pandemic-related stress had negatively impacted their mental health. Now with millions of U.S. residents getting vaccinated…

  • Vaccine Monitor: More than Half of Rural Residents Have Gotten a COVID-19 Vaccine or Intend to Do So as Soon as Possible

    News Release

    More than half (54%) of rural adults say they have already gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or will do so as soon as possible, as rural residents report less issues with both supply and access than those living in urban and suburban areas, according to a new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report focused on rural America. A somewhat larger share of rural residents (39%) than those living in urban (31%) or suburban…

  • KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor- Rural America

    Poll Finding

    This report examines in depth the vaccine-related views and experiences of rural residents and shows more than half of rural adults say they have already gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or will do so as soon as possible. Rural residents report fewer issues with both supply and access than those living in urban and suburban areas, and a large share of rural residents say they will “definitely not” get vaccinated.