Election 2024

Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, voters in six states have weighed in on constitutional amendments regarding abortion, and the side favoring access to abortion prevailed in every state.

In 2024, up to 15 states may have abortion measures on their ballot seeking to either affirm that the state constitution protects the right to abortion or that nothing in the constitution confers such a right. Our tracker shows in which states abortion-related constitutional amendment measures are confirmed or under consideration for the 2024 election.

KFF President and CEO Drew Altman explains that while the 2024 election will not be dominated by health care, abortion will be in the spotlight and potentially a few other health issues, including threats to the ACA, Medicaid expansion, drug costs and affordability concerns.

The election has enormous implications for health policy. A Democratic White House can be expected to continue to build on public programs such as the ACA, Medicaid and Medicare, and protect reproductive rights. A Trump administration could be expected to move generally in the opposite direction on the ACA and Medicaid, and abortion.

Public opinion of the ACA has been largely divided along partisan lines since the law was passed. Overall, about six in ten U.S. adults hold a favorable opinion of the ACA while about four in ten hold a negative view. However, nearly nine in ten Democrats along with over half of independents view the law favorably, while about two thirds of Republicans hold unfavorable views.
Many specific provisions in the law are popular, including prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage based on a person’s medical history and banning insurers from charging higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions.

The public overwhelmingly supports allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, including majorities of Democrats and Republicans. Substantial support persists after hearing arguments for and against the idea. KFF polling also shows that a large majority of people, including most older adults on Medicare, are unaware or unsure that there is a law on the books that requires the government to conduct these negotiations. Moreover, less than half of older adults know about other provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that could save Medicare beneficiaries money.