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And the issue seems to be more motivating for Democratic-leaning voters.
So what I think is safe to say is that we will hear A LOT about health care costs during the midterm campaigns.
Full report at www.kff.org/public-opini...
I am not in the prediction-making game so unsure how this plays out in terms of D seats or R seats. The economy has typically been a Republican advantage and health care has been a D+ issue. As of now, voters seem to give Dems the advantage on health care costs.
Majorities across partisanship worry about being able to afford health care and say their health costs have increased over the past year
Let me explain a bit more. There has been a lot of focus on health care costs as part of the ACA enhanced premium tax credit debate...and generally, health care costs are taking bigger chunks out of people's paychecks and household expenses.
Health care is typically a second tier voting issue but a trend in our recent KFF polls make me think that the cost of health care may be playing a big role in the 2026 midterms.
Polls may not capture this because they limit voters to pick either "economy" or "health care" as top voting issue.
just saw the sampling design and target population. seems legit to me
I am not saying the incidence of millionaires is reliable, but the survey methods are not an immediate red flag
survey methods nerd here. can you share more about the methods? happy to take a look, but a response rate of 45% back in the 1990s was very normal
but it can't just be approve/disapprove... it needs the full argument testing etc bc I am not sure people know of the trade offs anymore since it has been a while since it has been the focus of debate
we haven't but it is on our list to do again soon
KFF split bar chart titled “Prior to Recent Changes to the Childhood Vaccine Schedule, A Quarter of Parents Said the CDC Recommended Too Many Childhood Vaccines, Rising to Half Among MAGA-Supporting Republican Parents.” The chart shows the percent of parents who say the CDC recommends too many, about the right amount, or not enough vaccines, or who say they are not sure. Results shown by total parents, age, party identification, and MAGA and non-MAGA Republicans.
⚡ KFF’s Alex Montero explains that Secretary Kennedy’s efforts to narrow the childhood vaccine schedule doesn’t reflect the views of most parents, but KFF polling suggests it may have more appeal among President Trump’s base. #QuickTake https://on.kff.org/49qOSVN
Whatever one thinks about changes to the pediatric vaccine schedule, it will play out as a natural experiment on the nation’s kids. HHS says the changes will reduce distrust and increase vax rates. But they could do the opposite. We may not know until disease data are out.
Bloomberg reported this week the FDA is delaying its mifepristone safety review until after the midterm elections. Last month, @kff.org polled on the public's awareness of the drug, its safety, and perception of the planned review:
www.kff.org/public-opini...
I feel like it was just a year ago when we were talking about the economy in terms of "vibes," well to put it bluntly...the vibes are bad.
Latest polling from @kff.org finds more than half of adults say it is now harder to earn a living than a year ago, including about seven in ten younger adults
www.kff.org/public-opini...
I'm "fine"
There is so much to discover in this report. I encourage you all to learn more about the current experiences of ACA marketplace enrollees www.kff.org/public-opini...
What will they do? Will they find different forms of coverage? Will they absorb the costs? Will they decide to go without insurance?
There has been so much policy debate about the expiring enhanced premium tax credits for people who buy coverage on ACA marketplaces but not enough (IMO) attention has been given to the people who will be paying more for insurance next year
A key mission of @kff.org public opinion work is to amplify the voices of the people directly impacted by healthy policy debates. Today we release a great example of this- a survey of ACA Marketplace Enrollees
www.kff.org/public-opini...
We also play this out in the 2025 election on Tuesday www.kff.org/quick-take/w...
No idea how/when shutdown ends but newest @kff.org shows that Democrats still have advantage on health care issue for voters. www.kff.org/public-opini...
KFF graphic featuring a quote from Ashley Kirzinger, KFF Associate Director, Public Opinion and Survey Research. It says, “After Tuesday’s elections, it is becoming increasingly difficult to disentangle concerns about the economy and concerns about health care as costs become the most pressing health care issue for voters...”
⚡ KFF’s @ashleykirzinger.bsky.social explores what Tuesday’s elections tell us about the importance of addressing health care costs in both policy debates and electoral choices. #QuickTake https://on.kff.org/47I4ymu
Featuring my wonderful colleagues @lizhamel.bsky.social and @alex-kff.bsky.social
I have no problem with polisci using these panels for experiments but not sure I understand the value of using them to measure public opinion, especially when so much data are available to them for free. thanks @ropercenter.bsky.social
Feeling pretty justified as at the time many political scientists used these sources, repeated some our questions, and kept getting different estimates. My response was simply- I think our samples are more representative of the public we claim to represent.
KFF graphic featuring a quote from Ashley Kirzinger, KFF’s Director of Survey Methodology; Associate Director for Public Opinion and Survey Research. It says, “The debate over these enhanced tax credits can be seen as a proxy for the broader public’s concerns about health care affordability which may be why the public is largely in favor of extending these subsidies – even as overall views of the ACA are still very polarized.”
⚡ KFF’s @ashleykirzinger.bsky.social breaks down KFF polling showing broad public support for extending the enhanced ACA premium tax credits — and what’s likely driving that rare agreement across party lines. #QuickTake https://on.kff.org/4n3Gjox
If you find this interesting, come check out my talk at the upcoming MAPOR conference.
This is why I think there is widespread support for continuing the enhanced premium tax credits. It is less about the connection to the ACA and more about people's overwhelming concerns about the cost of health care.
Want to see health care rank as a top voting issue again? Ask about cost.
