Economy

Leading up to the November 2022 midterm elections, abortion access is motivating majorities of Democratic women, women under 50 and and Democratic voters in states with abortion bans. For older voters, some health care issues related to Medicare costs are resonating.

Federal policymakers have taken several actions to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic on families and children by providing state fiscal relief, increased nutrition assistance, Medicaid funding, and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); however, some of this assistance has or will expire. This brief examines hardship across three metrics—difficulty paying for normal household expenses, food sufficiency, and uncertainty in paying for rent or mortgage payments for households with children and by income.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to end the constitutional right to an abortion, most voters (55%) now say access to abortion is “very important” to their vote in November’s midterm elections, up 9 percentage points since February prior to the decision, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. This heightened…

This poll finds most voters (55%) now say access to abortion is “very important” to their vote in November’s midterm elections, up since the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. This heightened interest is greatest among voter groups who largely want to guarantee access to abortion, including Democratic voters and women voters under 50 years old.

The KFF Health Care Debt Survey finds that four in ten adults have some form of health care debt, with most citing one-time or short-term medical expenses as the contributor. Many of those with health care debt report making personal sacrifices and enduring financial consequences as a result of their debt, while nearly one in five think they will never be able to pay off.

Against the backdrop of public concern about inflation and rising gas prices, proposals to lower what people pay out-of-pocket for drugs tops the public’s list of health care priorities for Congress, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. Most (55%) of the public say inflation is the biggest problem facing…

This poll finds the public’s health care priorities for Congress focus on reducing out-of-pocket costs, and concerns over inflation and the economy are top of mind as voters begin to think about the November midterm elections. The poll also examines views of the ACA and nursing homes.

The Vaccine Monitor report examines how families and workers fared financially during the omicron surge. Large shares of workers missed work due to being sick from coronavirus, having to quarantine, or their workplace being closed due to the pandemic. Many, particularly those with lower incomes, report impacts on their family’s finances and stress level.

The surge in COVID-19 cases triggered by the omicron variant led to widespread work disruptions, with about 4 in 10 workers (42%) – including 6 in 10 of those with lower incomes – saying they had to miss work at least once in the past three months because of a…

New 2020 data on U.S. health spending are now available on the Health Spending Explorer, an interactive tool that allows users to explore trends in health expenditures by federal and local governments, insurers, service providers, and individuals. The data, which span from 1960 to 2020, are based on the just-released…