Eight Trends Shaping 2026 Healthcare Costs By Lynne Cotter, Emma Wager Twitter, Hattie Xu, Tom Lebert, Julia Harris, Brad Brockbank, and Matthew Rae Twitter March 17, 2026

https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/eight-trends-shaping-2026-healthcare-costs/?utm_campaign=KFF-Peterson&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--vZm8jAnIgDZV0q52uD1wCPc6H1h0w9nnoYQg0Xqc6m7IeTYe3D1MtxBzS0-7wDGV_zUkyhl0X4Yoxs7yH7yFK8zbddQ&_hsmi=409193873&utm_content=409193873&utm_source=hs_email Trends Shaping 2026 Health Care Costs Health care affordability is top of mind for many Americans, rising well above other necessities based on recent KFF polling. A new Peterson-KFF policy explainer lays out the health care trends shaping the 2026 policy debates, including: A broad increase in premiums, with particularly big increases in costs for Affordable Care Act Marketplace enrollees due to the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits, Public and private interest in addressing the increase in U.S. spending on prescription drugs, Growing support for increased health care price transparency, 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 Rapid state actions to make use of the Rural Health Transformation funds. The Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker is an online hub monitoring how well the U.S. health system is operating through key quality and cost measures. https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/?utm_campaign=KFF-Peterson&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--gOTmCj9InurrCZSXTEjI2YUg4S6GJ5up84MN5IJKRtIrb4hmQgPnAI6aOgP0yRm8a2CpawPOOvn6KwB4M6dYjkkc9LA&_hsmi=409193873&utm_content=409193873&utm_source=hs_email