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A KFF analysis finds that 28.5 million people in the U.S. have limited English proficiency. People with limited English proficiency are over 3x as likely to be uninsured as people who are English proficient and report greater challenges accessing care. on.kff.org/4xFLrV1

Chart showing health coverage distribution among individuals by English proficiency. English proficient: 36% Medicaid or other public, 57% private, 7% uninsured. Limited English proficient: 40% Medicaid or other public, 37% private, 23% uninsured. Source: KFF, ACS 2024 data.

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The Trump administration’s proposed Census changes would ban race and ethnicity questions, eliminating a key source of data that researchers use to understand racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care, including trends over time. on.kff.org/3T8Q5Nn

A timeline chart titled "U.S. Census Collection of Race and Ethnicity Data Have Evolved Over Time" shows the inclusion of various racial and ethnic groups in census data from 1790 to 2020. Categories listed on the left include White, Hispanic, Black, Asian, AIAN (American Indian or Alaska Native), and NHPI (Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander), among others. Dots indicate the years each category was included. The chart is sourced from KFF.

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In the last year, many women — 4 in 10 women (42%) — have skipped or postponed care they thought they needed. Our latest 2026 Women’s Health Survey brief has the details: on.kff.org/4y4XIn2

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In this week’s episode, Paragon Health Institute’s Joe Grogan shares his perspective on the government’s ideal role in regulating generative AI: Limited to what’s absolutely necessary. Watch the full episode: on.kff.org/4At5DMD

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The overwhelming majority (92%) of rural voters say Medicaid is important for people in their local community, according to our latest survey with @apnews.com. About half (49%) have had a personal or family connection to the program at some point in their lives: on.kff.org/4yNL8bH

The KFF bar chart titled "The Overwhelming Majority of Rural Voters Across Partisanship Say Medicaid Is Important for People in Their Community" shows based on party, how important rural voters find Medicaid is in your local community. It is broken down by political party and a bottom section for Republicans who are MAGA and non-MAGA supporters.

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While health insurance coverage helps, it doesn’t eliminate cost barriers for women. Our survey shows that many women with insurance are delaying care, skipping recommended tests, rationing medications, or cutting basic needs because of health care costs: on.kff.org/4y4XIn2

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3 in 10 women (31%) say they skipped or postponed a recommended medical test or treatment in the past year because of cost — including many women with insurance. See more findings: on.kff.org/4y4XIn2

KFF bar chart titled “Three in ten women have skipped recommended medical tests or treatments in the past year.” The chart shows the share of women 18-64, and among those by insurance type, who skipped recommended tests or treatments because of the cost.

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Prices for drugs without an available generic or biosimilar on TrumpRx.gov are about as likely to be more as less relative to the publicly listed prices in other wealthy countries. Our analysis: on.kff.org/4ySlVgl

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Women tend to have lower incomes, fewer resources, and greater health care needs than men — a combination that makes cost especially burdensome. Our survey shows 4 in 10 women skipped or postponed care in the past year because of cost, vs. 1 in 3 men: on.kff.org/4y4XIn2

KFF graphic titled “percent who skipped or postponed care in the past year because of cost.” The graphic shows two donut charts: 42% of women ages 18-64 and 35% of men ages 18-64 skipped or postponed health care in the last 12 months due to cost.

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How do TrumpRx prices for brand-name drugs compare to prices in other wealthy countries? Our new analysis finds they are sometimes higher and sometimes lower than the average overseas. See the details at the KFF–Peterson Heath System Tracker: on.kff.org/4ySlVgl

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Health insurance matters but it doesn’t eliminate cost barriers for women In the past year, 50% of women with ACA Marketplace plans, 38% with employer coverage, and 34% with Medicaid delayed care due to cost, according to our 2026 Women’s Health Survey: on.kff.org/4y4XIn2

KFF graphic showing data from the 2026 Women’s Health Survey. The graphic is titled “Affordability challenges lead many women to delay needed care.” The chart shows that 42% of women ages 18-64 skipped or postponed care they needed in the past year because of cost; and shows the share of women who did so by insurance type: 68% uninsured, 50% individually purchased ACA Marketplace plans, 38% employer-sponsored coverage, and 34% Medicaid.

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Rural voters overwhelmingly cite cost of living as the top issue they want candidates to talk about heading into the midterms. But messaging about fraud may appeal to rural Republican voters, as fraud in govt. programs is their top issue for candidates to talk about. 🔗: on.kff.org/4yNL8bH

The KFF bar chart titled "Democratic and Independent Rural Voters Are More Likely to Want Candidates to Focus on Costs, Republican Voters Are More Focused More on Fraud, Immigration" shows that percentages of different election topics and they are broken down based on the total, Democrats, Independents and Republicans.

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KFF-@apnews.com Rural Voters Survey finds rural voters are increasingly worried about the rising cost of living, including health costs, heading into the midterms. Rural voters trust Reps over Dems by a wide margin on cost of living & by a smaller margin on health costs: on.kff.org/4yNL8bH

The KFF bar chart titled "Rural Voters Prefer Republicans Over Democrats To Address Cost of Living but That Gap Narrows on Health Care, While Many Trust Neither Party" shows which political party they trust to do a better job handling the following: the cost of living, the cost of health care, the Medicaid program, the Medicare program, and the Affordable Care Act, or ACA.

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4 in 10 women (42%) delayed or postponed care they needed in the past year because of cost — including a third or more of women with employer coverage, Medicaid, or Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. Explore more findings from our Women’s Health Survey: on.kff.org/4y4XIn2

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Our new nationally representative survey of 4,688 women and 1,148 men ages 18–64 finds health care costs remain a major barrier for women, specifically — causing everything from delayed care to rationed medications to cuts in spending on basic needs: on.kff.org/4y4XIn2

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KFF-@apnews.com survey finds slightly more than half of rural voters disapprove of President Trump’s handling of health care and largely view his health care policies as having negatively rather than positively impacted their health care costs, Medicaid, and the availability of care where they live.

The KFF bar chart titled "Rural Voters' Views on the Impact of Trump's Health Care Policies Largely Skew Negative" rating things from positive, no impact, and negative impact. The different categories are: Medicare, Medicaid, Your health care costs, The availability of health care in your area, The cost of prescription drugs.

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KFF-@apnews.com survey finds that, heading into the midterm elections, rural voters overwhelmingly name the cost of living as the top issue they want candidates to talk about. When it comes to household expenses, rural voters worry most about health costs and gas prices: on.kff.org/4yNL8bH

The KFF bar chart titled "Gas Prices and Health Care Costs Top the List of Rural Voters’ Affordability Concerns" shows how worried people are, from very worried to somewhat worried, about being able afford the following: Gasoline or other transportation costs, Health care, Food and groceries, Monthly utilities like electricity or heat, Rent or mortgage.

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KFF @kff.org · 22/09/2026

A new KFF-@apnews.com survey finds rural voters’ frustrations about the cost of living are growing and appear to be chipping away at Republicans’ enthusiasm to vote in the midterm elections. Explore the survey findings and read reporting from AP and @kffhealthnews.org: on.kff.org/4yNL8bH

The KFF chart titled "Rural Voters' Ratings of Cost of Living in Their Communities Have Significantly Worsened in the Past Decade, While Other Sentiments Have Changed Little". It shows how people rate things in their community as only fair or poor.

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Across the tech industry, many AI leaders are calling for oversight. But where should regulation begin? Paragon’s Joe Grogan says policymakers should be cautious about creating AI-specific legal standards too early. More in this week’s episode: on.kff.org/4At5DMD

Quote from Joe Grogan (Chairman of the Board, Paragon Health Institute; former Director, White House Domestic Policy Council) from Episode 16 of KFF's Business of Health podcast. It says: There are plenty of bad outcomes that occur with clinicians who are well trained, well meaning, good clinicians who can make mistakes, miss something, or even to the best of their ability Something goes wrong. I mean, we have these big discussions about tort reform in the United States all the time. I mean, good doctors who've done nothing wrong frequently get ensnared in lawsuits. And I've seen that myself, with friends or with physicians that I've known who've been ensnared of that. That will happen with AI, But I don't think that a specific body of law, that Congress or state legislature should be trying to do that right now.

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KFF @kff.org · 22/09/2026

Our new survey shows substantial shares of adults across health conditions say their health got worse due to skipping/delaying care, including about: • 3 in 10 w/ a mental health condition 32 or lung disease 29; • 1 in 4 w/ cardiovascular disease 24; • 1 in 5 of those w/ diabetes 21 or cancer 18.

The KFF bar chart shows the breakdown of adults with 1 or more health conditions and the percentage of those who say their health got worse because they skipped or delayed care compared to adults who don't have any conditions.

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KFF @kff.org · 22/09/2026

Deciding what health care gets covered largely falls to insurers. KFF polling finds prior authorization is the single biggest burden insured adults say they face beyond cost. KFF’s @larrylevitt.bsky.social weighs whether the savings are worth the impact of delays & denials on patients & providers.

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Our new 2026 Women’s Health Survey finds that large shares of women have been exposed to false or misleading claims about contraception on social media and elsewhere. Explore and share the findings: on.kff.org/4gWZmkA

The image is a bar chart titled "False or Misleading Statements About Contraception Are Widespread" from the Women's Health Survey 2026 by KFF. It displays the percentage of adults aged 18-49 who heard false statements.
53% have seen or heard hormones in contraceptives are harmful to your health (false: There are no negative long term health effects from hormonal birth control).
43% have seen or heard hormones limit future ability to get pregnant (false: Hormonal birth control does not affect long-term future fertility).
32% have seen/heard natural family planning methods (FABMs) are as effective as hormonal contraceptives (false: American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists puts FABMs at ~77%-98% effective depending on the method vs. 93–99.9% for hormonal methods).
32% have seen or heard emergency contraceptive pills like Plan B cause abortions (false: EC pills cannot end an existing pregnancy).

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Amid uncertainty, Elevance Health said they may exit certain Medicaid markets in the coming months. Our new policy watch examines recent and anticipated Medicaid managed care rate setting challenges and the potential implications of MCO exits: on.kff.org/4hEOmbK

The image is a pie chart titled "Five For-Profit, Publicly Traded Companies Have Almost Half of the Medicaid MCO Market." It shows the share of total comprehensive Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) enrollment as of July 1, 2024. The chart is divided into sections: Centene (18%), Elevance Health (11%), UnitedHealth Group (9%), Molina (7%), Aetna/CVS (3%), 10 Other Multi-State Parent Firms (15%), and 121 Local/Regional MCOs (36%). The total MCO enrollment is 66.5 million. The source is KFF.

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State budgets are increasingly under pressure — and that's before Medicaid cuts and other changes in the 2025 reconciliation law take full effect. KFF’s new analysis considers how these conditions could affect states’ future Medicaid budget decisions: on.kff.org/3SVUbIB

A line graph titled "General Fund Revenues and Spending Have Slowed Following Pandemic-Era Highs." It shows annual percent change in state general fund revenue and spending from FY 1998 to FY 2026. The blue line represents general fund revenue, and the green line represents total general fund spending. Both lines show fluctuations, with a notable dip around 2010, then an increase, followed by a decrease post-2021. The graph includes a disclaimer about data adjustments and sources, namely the National Association of State Budget Officers and KFF.

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Uninsured adults with 3 or more health conditions are more likely than their insured counterparts to say they skipped or delayed needed care in the past year. They are also about twice as likely as insured adults to skip or ration their medication due to cost: on.kff.org/4xYYfqJ

The KFF bar chart shows the percentage of adults 18-64 insured compared to uninsured, that report the following in the past 12 months: Problems paying medical bills, Cut back on household spending to pay for health care, Skipped or rationed medications due to costs, Skipped or delayed care for any reason and Health worsened due to skipped/ delayed care.

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Modernizing the FDA for the AI era is a tightrope. Too much regulation can stall innovation; but not enough regulation can make patients unintended test subjects for unproven new tools. Where is the line? And can the FDA actually walk it? Our interview w/ Dr. Brian Miller: on.kff.org/4hcOWMB

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In FY 2026, 11 states reduced general fund spending, including 5 states that made mid-year reductions to avoid shortfalls. KFF examines the latest data on state fiscal conditions and what it could mean for Medicaid: on.kff.org/3SVUbIB

Map shows the percent change in state general fund spending, FY 2026 over FY 2025. State Fiscal Conditions Are Tightening: 11 States Experienced Reductions in General Fund Spending in FY 2026.

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KFF’s Women’s Health Survey finds that younger women (18 to 25) are more likely than women ages 36 to 49 to talk to their doctor, seek more information online, or change their birth control method based on something they saw on social media: on.kff.org/4gWZmkA

The KFF bar chart shows how women from 18 to 49 have seen or heard something on social media and made a change to their contraceptive use. The categories of the breakdowns are: sought more information through an online search or AI*, Talked to a doctor/health care provider about what you saw or heard*, started or changed to a new birth control method, and stopped using your hormonal birth control method*.

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About 4 in 10 insured adults with certain complex conditions say their insurer denied or delayed coverage for a service, treatment, or medication their doctor prescribed. See more survey findings: on.kff.org/4xYYfqJ

The KFF bar chart shows the breakdown of adults 18-64 whose insurance company either denied coverage or delayed their treatment in the past two years.

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Tightening state fiscal conditions — combined with other budgetary pressures, like federal Medicaid spending cuts in the 2025 reconciliation law — may increase the likelihood of states enacting Medicaid restrictions: on.kff.org/3SVUbIB

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Among uninsured adults, about 4 in 10 w/ multi. conditions (43%) and about 1/2 w/ a mental health condition (47%) say their health got worse after skipping or delaying care — making them about 1.5x as likely as their insured counterparts to experience a decline in health: on.kff.org/4xYYfqJ

The KFF bar chart shows adults 18-64 who are uninsured and insured. They say their health got worse due to delayed or skipped care. The categories it breaks down to are: 3 or more active health conditions and Treated for a mental health condition in past year.

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Health care providers remain the most trusted source for reliable birth control information for women ages 18-49, despite widespread use of social media and misinformation online. Get the details in our first 2026 Women's Health Survey brief: on.kff.org/4gWZmkA

The KFF pie charts show the percentage of how much reproductive-age women trust their health care provider (86%) compared to AI tools and chatbots (25%) and Social media and social media influencers (15%).

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What does a former FDA official think about applying the FDA’s 1976 medical device framework to AI, a technology that learns and changes? Hear from Dr. Brian Miller in this week’s episode — his answer may surprise you: on.kff.org/4hcOWMB

The green KFF image says Episode 15 FDA Regulation and the Dynamic Nature of AI on the top with a picture of Dr. Brian Miller on the right side. The quote on the main part of the graphic says, "The challenge I think with the FDA is, you don't want the FDA to be a barrier to innovation, but you want it to be a facilitator of safe and effective innovation... The FDA needs to be both a regulator and sort of the overseer and have an oversight function. And then it also needs to facilitate innovation getting to the marketplace. And that's sort of a tough balance." Below that it says Dr. Brian Miller, Associate Professor of Medicine at the John Hopkins University of Medicine; Visiting Fellow, Hoover institution. Below that it says KFF's The Business of Health with Chip Kahn and the KFF on the bottom right hand side.

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Insurers take a cut of every premium dollar for overhead and profit. The question isn’t just whether they profit, but whether we’re getting value in return. KFF’s @larrylevitt.bsky.social breaks down how administrative costs and profit varies across private markets and Medicare.

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About one-third (35%) of reproductive-age women saw or heard something about contraception on social media in the past 12 months. For women ages 18 to 25, the share increases to 42%. Get more details in our new Women’s Health Survey: on.kff.org/4gWZmkA

The KFF chart shows the breakdown by age of women 18-25*, 26-35* and 36-49 (Ref) and if they heard or saw anything on social media about birth control, regardless if they searched for it or not.

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KFF’s nationally representative 2026 Women’s Health Survey finds that exposure to content about contraception on social media and in other places is prompting reproductive-age women to seek more information — and some to change their birth control methods: on.kff.org/4gWZmkA

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Our new 2026 Women’s Health Survey finds almost 1 in 10 women reproductive-age women either started or changed to a new birth control method (9%) or stopped using their hormonal birth control (8%) because of what they saw on social media: on.kff.org/4gWZmkA

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#ICYMI: A new KFF survey of more than 25,000 adults shows that about one-third of adults ages 18-64 with multiple or complex health conditions say they struggled to pay or could not pay their medical bills in the last year: on.kff.org/46l9Kwx

The KFF chart shows how the cost of care and barriers can worsen health for adults with multiple complex health conditions. The chart splits things into categories and shows the percentages of adults with problems paying medical bills, skipped of delayed care for any reason and health worsened due to skipped or delayed care.

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As social media becomes a routine source of health information, our 2026 Women’s Health Survey findings offer an early look at how what women encounter online translates into real-world decisions about their contraceptive care: on.kff.org/4gWZmkA

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About half of adults 18-64 with 3 or more health conditions say they skipped or delayed care in the past year, including 1 in 3 who did so due to cost. About 1 in 5 adults with multiple or complex health conditions didn’t take their medication as prescribed due to cost on.kff.org/46l9Kwx

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2025 provisional data show a small increase in overall suicides, after a two-year decline between 2022 and 2024, explains KFF’s Clea Bell. on.kff.org/3Tbo4oj

KFF graphic with a line graph showing the number of overall suicide deaths and suicides by the discharge of a firearm and by other means from 2014 through 2025. After a two year decline in all suicides from 2022 to 2024, the 2025 provisional data show a small increase in overall suicides from 48,800 to 49,000 and in firearm suicides from 27,600 to 28,000 and a small decrease in other suicides from 21,200 to 21,000 from 2024 to 2025.

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“If the first obligation of a health care system is to take care of the sick, we are failing that test,” said KFF’s @drewaltman.bsky.social More in KFF’s new survey findings: on.kff.org/46l9Kwx

KFF graphic with a quote by KFF Founding President and CEO Drew Altman: “If the first obligation of a health care system is to take care of the sick, we are failing that test. Cost and access problems are hitting the chronically ill hard, and the chronically ill and uninsured especially hard."

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