Fixing America's Food System - Robert Irvine In this episode of The Secretary Kennedy Podcast, I sit down with Chef Robert Irvine to talk about how we can transform America's food system without increasing costs. We discuss why real food is…

I'm listening to the new RFK Jr podcast. pca.st/episode/1ca1...
The secretary is asking people to eat less processed food, making food from scratch. I'm defrosting my salmon right now.

How does U.S. life expectancy compare to other countries? - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker The U.S. has the lowest life expectancy among comparable countries and spends nearly twice as much as them on healthcare per person, on average.

Life expectancy gap between the US and other countries has shrunk:
Now averaging (only?) 3.7 years behind our peers.

KFF polling shows more than one-third of adults are skipping or delaying health care due to cost.

On the @whyshoulditrustyou.bsky.social podcast, KFF’s Ashley Kirzinger explains the impact.

🎧🔗: https://on.kff.org/4lXNvne

>> Rapid state actions to make use of the Rural Health Transformation funds.

>> Federal and state interest in addressing the impacts of health care consolidation,
>> An acceleration in the use of artificial intelligence in health care,
>> Funding cuts and Medicaid program implementation pressures on states, and

>> A broad increase in premiums, with particularly big increases for ACA Marketplace enrollees due to the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits,
>> Public + private interest in decreasing U.S. spending on prescription drugs,
>> Growing support for increased health care price transparency,

Eight Trends Shaping 2026 Healthcare Costs - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker trends shaping state and federal healthcare and health insurance policy in 2026

2026 started with political attention on health care + the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history over health insurance costs. What other health issues are policymakers considering for the rest of the year?
www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collec...

How does health spending in the U.S. compare to other countries? - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker This chart collection examines how U.S. health spending compares to health spending in other similarly large, wealthy OECD countries using the OECD Health Statistics database.

Th U.S average annual growth rate in health consumption was up 4.2% compared to 4.9% in comparable countries.

www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collec...

The U.S. spends $15,474 per person per year on health. This is more than any other OECD country. However, health spending growth has been lower in the U.S. than in comparable peer countries over the past five years.

How does U.S. health spending compare to other, peer countries? New KFF Health System Tracker on #healthcosts forthcoming.

One in 5 *insured* adults with incomes under 200% federal poverty didn't get healthcare due to cost.

www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collec...

The percent of people forgoing mental health care due to cost is increasing over time.

How does cost affect access to healthcare? - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker Although most adults are in good health and have health insurance, about 1 in 6 adults (17%) reported delaying or foregoing healthcare due to cost.

17% of Americans delayed or did not get healthcare for cost reasons—New analysis from KFF Health System Tracker. www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collec...

TrumpRx is up and running with 44 drugs (though some are different administrations like the Zepbound Kwik Pen or vial). Use of the website is self-reported to be stymied by naming the site after the president: yougov.com/en-us/articl...

GLP-1 agonists may be used to quell food AND substance cravings, making it a powerful drug for reducing the burden of substance use disorder.
Also look at this great study overview image 😍:
www.bmj.com/content/392/...

How do health expenditures vary across the population? - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker In a given year, a small portion of the population is responsible for a very large percentage of total health spending. We tend to focus on averages when discussing health spending, but individuals’...

New analysis from KFF Health System Tracker on how health expenditures vary across populations in the U.S. See spending by:
* Age
* Diagnosis
* Sex
* Race/Ethnicity

How do health expenditures vary across the population? - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker In a given year, a small portion of the population is responsible for a very large percentage of total health spending. We tend to focus on averages when discussing health spending, but individuals’…

www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collec...

Americans us an uneven amount of health care. The top 1% of people with the highest health care spending incur 20% of the total. The bottom 50% uses only 3% of all health care $$.

This makes it a great market for insurance -- the need for very expensive services is, to some degree, unpredictable.

How do health expenditures vary across the population? - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker In a given year, a small portion of the population is responsible for a very large percentage of total health spending. We tend to focus on averages when discussing health spending, but individuals’…

People with a cancer diagnosis use an average of *$21,500/year* of health care services. People with an emphysema diagnosis have even higher health spending --- $24,500/year.

More about how much health spending is in the U.S. for different people: www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collec...

Challenges with effective price transparency analyses - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker The Transparency in Coverage (TiC) rule aimed to make healthcare prices easily comparable, but the reported data may pose many barriers to effective analysis.

The rule addresses many of the challenges outlined in our piece, www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/challe... , such as reducing ghost rates, and allowing for provider group practices without duplicating data.

20 more days before the February 23 deadline to submit comments for the #pricetransparency Transparency in Coverage final rule.

www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Your Next Primary Care Doctor Could Be Online Only, Accessed Through an AI Tool - KFF Health News The largest hospital chain in Massachusetts is offering a new AI-assisted telehealth tool to patients who need primary care. Mass General Brigham says this and other AI tools can help relieve staff bu...

When Tammy MacDonald needed a new family doctor outside Boston, she was told she would have to wait a year or more.

Then, a nearby hospital offered her an AI tool to set up a telehealth visit.

“I think I got an appointment the next day,” she said.

More from @wbur.org ⤵️

Almost half of U.S. health spending is public dollars, which is expected to grow with the increasingly aging population. However, spending growth has 🐌slowed compared to earlier decades.
Trends in #healthcarespeding www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collec...

What to Know About Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and Federal Efforts at Regulation | KFF This brief provides an overview of the role of PBMs in managing pharmacy benefits, discusses recent federal legislation focusing on several elements of PBM business practices, and explains the…

The Senate passed bipartisan PBM reform that is expected to pass the House and go to the President for signing.

Reforming PBMs has been a multi-year bipartisan effort:

KFF Health Tracking Poll: Health Care Costs, Expiring ACA Tax Credits, and the 2026 Midterms | KFF Looking ahead to the midterm elections, health care costs are the public’s top economic concern, and many voters say the issue will have a major impact on their vote. On health care issues, including…

New poll from KFF: www.kff.org/public-opini...

How much do people with employer plans spend out-of-pocket on cost-sharing? - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker Health insurance premiums for those with employer coverage are typically shared between the employer and enrollee. In addition to these premium contributions, most enrollees also face out-of-pocket…

Two in three adults worry about being able to pay for healthcare. It's no wonder, when even those with insurance through their employer have to pay thousands for premiums and hundreds or thousands more in deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collec...

KFF original "shark fin" chart: www.kff.org/quick-take/a... showing the subsidy cliff.

Dozens of CDC Health Databases Have Gone Dark Under Trump: ‘The Consequences Will Be Dire’ Nearly half of routinely-updated CDC databases have experienced delays or shutdowns in 2025, with vaccination-related systems disproportionately affected, according to a new study.

I find it extremely valuable to know the vaccination rates in my community, available, currently, at www.cdc.gov/schoolvaxvie...

But surveys collected at the federal level may not be updated.

www.404media.co/dozens-of-cd...

Culture Wars Take Center Stage - KFF Health News With lawmakers still mired over renewing enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, much of Washington has turned to culture war issues. Meanwhile, “confusion” remains the watchword at HHS as...

TONS of health news this week. Catch up with this week's #WTHealth podcast, w/ @alicemiranda.bsky.social, @annaedney.bsky.social, and @joannekenen.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast...

Explaining Cost-Sharing Reductions and Silver Loading in ACA Marketplaces | KFF The House of Representatives recently passed a budget reconciliation bill that would appropriate funding for cost-sharing reductions that insurers are required to provide to low-income enrollees in th...

The Great Healthcare Plan mentions Cost-Sharing Reductions. Explainer here! www.kff.org/affordable-c...