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COSTS and Affordability

KFF Health Tracking Poll: Health Care Costs and the Midterms

This KFF poll finds that health care costs continue to top the public’s list of affordability worries, even as concerns about gas prices have risen in recent weeks, with two-thirds of the public expressing worry over affording health care costs. Majorities say health costs will influence their vote this election. Voters favor Democrats on the issue, while Republicans hold an advantage on addressing fraud and abuse.

Affordable care act

ACA Marketplace Survey Feature Image - Website

Cost Concerns and Coverage Changes: A Follow-Up Survey of ACA Marketplace Enrollees

This KFF survey is a follow-up survey of adults who had ACA Marketplace insurance in 2025. The survey examines the cost concerns and coverage changes of Marketplace enrollees following the end of the enhanced premium tax credits and finds that half of returning enrollees say their health care costs are “a lot higher” and most expect to cut back on basic household expenses to afford coverage.

Health System Tracker

What Are the Recent Trends in Employer-Based Health Coverage? Employer-sponsored health insurance is the largest source of health coverage for people under 65, but its reach is uneven.

How Does U.S. Life Expectancy Compare to Other Countries? The life expectancy gap between the U.S. and peer countries decreased from 4.1 years in 2023 to 3.7 years in 2024 as U.S. mortality dropped.

How Does Cost Affect Access to Health Care? In 2024, about 1 in 6 adults reported delaying or not getting healthcare due to cost, including medical or mental health care.

How Does Health Spending in the U.S. Compare to Other Countries? While the U.S. still spends the most in total dollars, eight OECD nations had a higher percentage increase in per-person health spending in 2024.

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  • The Public and Prescription Drugs

    Other Post

    Prescription drugs have become an integral part of medical practice - they help keep people healthy and save lives. But rising prescription drug costs have placed a growing burden on consumers, employers, and public programs. The issue of drug coverage for seniors under Medicare has moved to center stage in the Presidential election. This Public Opinion Update summarizes key findings from several surveys conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation in conjunction with other partners on…

  • Managed Care and Low-Income Populations: Case Study of Managed Care in Maryland

    Report

    This report analyzes Maryland's Medicaid managed care program, HealthChoice, an ambitious and broad-reaching effort to reform the financing and delivery of health care for over 300,000 low-income individuals. Implemented in 1997, HealthChoice contains certain innovative features not found in many other state reform efforts, such as protections for traditional providers and development of a new risk adjustment system. This report is one of a series of reports from The Kaiser/Commonwealth Low-Income Coverage and Access Project.…

  • Post-Election Survey: The Public and the Health Care Agenda for the New Administration and Congress

    Poll Finding

    This Kaiser Family Foundation-Harvard School of Public Health survey, conducted immediately after the 2000 Presidential election, finds that health care issues ranked near the top of voters priorities for spending the surplus. Medicare ranked among the top three priorities, along with education and Social Security, and ahead of paying off the national debt and cutting taxes. Education ranked first. The survey also found that voters support patients rights legislation and some action to help the…

  • Implementation of Managed Care Consumer Protections in Missouri, New Jersey, Texas and Vermont Overview

    Report

    This study goes beyond the legislative debates over expanded patients' rights to explore how managed care consumer protections have actually been implemented in four states (Missouri, New Jersey, Texas & Vermont) all of which have been active in this area. The study describes the details of the reforms, the issues that have arisen in implementation, and the lessons for policymakers from the experiences of these states. The Full Report (document #1518) is available on-line. Executive…

  • Recent Tax Proposals to Increase Health Insurance Coverage

    Other Post

    This report includes a side-by-side analysis of recent tax proposals by Members of Congress and various health organizations designed to increase the number of individuals with private health insurance coverage. Recent Tax Proposals To Increase Health Insurance Coverage

  • Probing the Power and Practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers

    Event Date:
    Event

    Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are increasingly scrutinized intermediaries in the U.S. health care system, negotiating discounts on prescription medications for health insurers and employers while collecting rebates from drugmakers. On June 14, two experts joined KFF’s The Health Wonk Shop and series moderator Larry Levitt in a 45-minute discussion about the power and practices of PBMs.

  • What to Know About the FDA’s Recent Decision to Allow Florida to Import Prescription Drugs from Canada

    Policy Watch

    Florida’s plan to import certain prescription drugs from Canada represents the first time the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted authority for a state to safely import prescription drugs from another country. This policy watch analysis unpacks some frequently asked questions related to state of Florida’s importation plan, including potential obstacles to implementation, who will benefit from any savings, and what types of drugs will (and will not) qualify for importation.

  • What Would Another Trump Presidency Mean for Health Care?

    Perspective

    In a new column in JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy, explores what a second Trump presidency might mean for health policy based on his record and remarks, including potentially weakening the Affordable Care Act, reducing federal Medicaid costs, and restricting access to abortion.

  • Charges for Emails with Doctors and other Healthcare Providers

    Issue Brief

    Patient-provider email messaging accelerated early in the COVID-19 pandemic as more patients sought medical care remotely, and the addition of billing codes for digital health services and subsequent changes in insurers’ payment policies have enabled providers to bill insurers and patients for messaging. This analysis examines the typical cost of patient-provider email messaging in 2020 and 2021 using private health insurance claims data. The typical cost for an email messaging claim was $39 in 2021,…

  • Medicare Spending on Ozempic and Other GLP-1s Is Skyrocketing

    Policy Watch

    This policy watch analyzes the latest data on Medicare Part D spending on GLP-1 drugs, initially approved to treat diabetes but in high demand as treatments for obesity, and shows how spending on these drugs has increased substantially in recent years.