Health care reform
Affordable, accessible health care and coverage
Get updates on our public policy perspectives
At the heart of Kaiser Permanente’s mission is the belief that all people deserve access to high-quality, affordable health care. We’re committed to achieving that mission by building on the progress our country has made since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, in 2010, which has enabled more people to access health care and coverage than ever before.
A key part of this progress has been the enhanced premium tax credits, first introduced in 2021 and then extended through 2025. These credits have lowered monthly premium costs for low- and middle-income families, leading to record enrollments in health plans through federal and state insurance marketplaces.
We support a value-based model of care that best serves patients by aligning physicians and health plans to drive coordination wherever patients receive care. This model rewards quality clinical outcomes instead of encouraging unnecessary and often extremely expensive treatments.
58%
of nonelderly Americans rely on employer coverage1
21 million
Americans covered through the ACA marketplaces in 20242
19.7 million
Americans qualified for enhanced premium tax credits in 20243
We are committed to guiding principles that improve health care coverage and care delivery by:
- Achieving universal coverage, which means providing everyone with affordable access to high-quality care and coverage through a mix of public and private programs
- Stabilizing existing pathways to coverage including Medicare, Medicaid, employer-based, and the Affordable Care Act, including renewing the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits
- Promoting coordinated, value-based care, as delivered by Kaiser Permanente and other integrated care delivery organizations that have a proven track record of providing great value and evidence-based, superior outcomes
- Addressing underlying cost drivers, including exploitative pharmaceutical pricing practices, which drive up overall costs for the health care system and for every person receiving care
- Ensuring the United States health care system trains the health care workforce necessary to meet the needs of all people living in America today and in the future
1 KFF, 2024.
2 U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024.
3 Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 2023.
