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Why we do many of our polls with major news organizations, on all kinds of issues not just health. My latest in my Untold History of KFF series: on.kff.org/4vHtNzc

I bet you didn’t know we ran media campaigns all over the world, even in Putin’s Russia. I continue to write about our “untold” stories: on.kff.org/3QUvoDN

Social media makes the anti science, anti vax crowd seem much larger than it is. Surveys show it’s actually a very small share of the public greatly outnumbered by science believers. My new column: on.kff.org/4wthpni

As we head towards a leadership change next year, I will be reviewing the most innovative things we have done since I founded KFF in a special series of columns. First up, our decades long program in South Africa, in celebration of their advancing in the World Cup: on.kff.org/4eupmmj

3) And Bob Blendon helped produce countless “offspring,” including me, Mollyann Brodie, and many, many more.

2) Bob Blendon was not a political scientist. But at the HSPH he made health care politics a legitimate area of inquiry. In a system dominated by money, politics and misinformation, a fundamental contribution.

One of my oldest friends and mentors Bob Blendon passed away today. Known recently as an expert on public opinion at Harvard, Bob was was the best foundation strategist ever when we worked together during RWJF’s early years. An unmatched combination of caring and brilliance.

Dr. @drewaltman.bsky.social shared more about KFF and what’s ahead:

Following Dr. Altman’s retirement at the end 2026, Larry Levitt will serve as KFF’s CEO and Dr. Mollyann Brodie will serve as President. They bring with them a combined six decades at KFF in senior positions guiding policy research and polling.

After nearly 40 years shaping the health policy landscape, our founding president and CEO Dr. Drew Altman announced he’ll retire at the end of the year. Larry Levitt and Dr. Mollyann Brodie have been appointed by the Board as the new leadership team.

Larry Levitt (@larrylevitt.bsky.social) and Molly Brodie (@mollybrodie.bsky.social) have worked hand in glove with me to provide strategic direction for and oversee KFF, and I trust they will sustain what we have built. They will be the perfect leadership team for KFF’s next chapter.

When Hale Champion, Barbara Jordan, Joe Califano, and others hired me in 1990 to chart the future here, they took the decision incredibly seriously. Today’s board exceeded even that high standard.

The health system is a mess, and health policy is going backwards. I am looking forward to being able to say what I believe again after 37 years at the helm at KFF, living under my own rules — we take no positions and express no personal beliefs. Starting Jan. 1, I can.

Today, I announced my plan to retire next year. There are so many things to be proud of about my time at KFF, but nothing beats the privilege of working closely with Nelson Mandela for many years when South Africa was our single largest program. Some recollections below.

Nothing was certain when I came to California to start KFF with little more than an idea. Now 37 years later, @kff.org is at the height of its effectiveness, and I have the perfect opportunity, thanks to our board, to hand over leadership to Larry Levitt and Molly Brodie next year.

Parts of MAHA can be very influential (think pesticides), but is it a coherent movement or a voting block? More than a name? My column: on.kff.org/4ngGWwO

There are many MAHAs, with many different priorities. They have too many different interests to be a movement or a single voting block. Their top priority is health care costs, like other voters, but their leaders don’t talk about costs much. My new column: on.kff.org/4ngGWwO

Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary of Health were combined in ‘77 under the great Julius Richmond giving the SG much more than a podium, but separated again with the star power of Everett Koop in ‘81. Chief doctor for HHS, for the nation, or both?

I was challenged to write about the problems with the U.S. health system in ONE PAGE (not the reasons for them or the solutions). What would you add/subtract? Remember, one page! My latest column: on.kff.org/4sP7PJe

Remarkable. Even with single payer advocates running, an HHS secretary and the issue on voter’s minds, not a single health question during the televised part of the California governor’s debate. Police 24/7 was more important.