Poll: 29% Of Americans Believe Health Care Is In Crisis
Poll Finds 29% Of Americans Believe Health Care System Is In Crisis
In recent years, affordability has quickly risen as one of the primary issues facing the American public. From housing and groceries to car payments and student loans, Americans are finding it harder and harder to pay for their basic needs. So it should come as no surprise that a recent poll found that one in four Americans believe the health care system is in crisis, with medical costs being the primary concern.
According to The Washington Post, the poll conducted by Gallup found that 29% of respondents felt that health care is too expensive, a 6% increase from last year. That is one of the highest percentage shares since Gallup began conducting the health care poll in the ’80s.
While access used to be Americans’ primary concern with the health care system, cost has quickly outpaced it. With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) establishing the health care marketplace in 2010, “It’s not that they don’t have the plans,” Lydia Saad, director of U.S. social research at Gallup, told The Washington Post. “They can’t afford the plans.”
At the heart of the issue are expiring subsidies for insurance provided through the ACA. The subsidies were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure as many people as possible had access to insurance if they contracted the illness. With the subsidies set to expire by the end of the year, health care research nonprofit KFF projects that monthly premiums will double on average. I get my insurance through the ACA, and my monthly premium went from $40 to $387.
The ACA subsidies were the driving factor behind the government shutdown in the fall, which became the longest shutdown in American history. Senate Democrats refused to vote on a spending bill unless an extension to the subsidies was added.
The shutdown ended without an extension to the ACA subsidies. Senate Republicans introduced a bill that wouldn’t meaningfully lower costs and would create health savings accounts with $1,500 for people who use ACA insurance, and Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would extend the subsidies for three years. Both measures failed when brought to a vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that House Republicans will draft their own health care plan, but added that it wouldn’t include an extension to the subsidies, despite a potential extension having bipartisan support among voters.
Gallup’s poll found that concerns about rising health care prices extended beyond party lines, with 81% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans believing the health care system is in crisis. “Health care is a pocketbook issue for people,” Liz Hamel, vice president and director of public opinion and survey research at KFF.
I remain continually baffled at the Republican party’s refusal to meaningfully address an issue that is hurting their very own voters. Red-state voters comprise a significant share of those who obtain their insurance through the ACA, with Florida expected to be hit hardest by the expiring subsidies.
With recent elections showing that Democrats are increasingly gaining momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms, you’d think the Republicans would extend the subsidies simply out of self-preservation. Of course, this is the GOP we’re talking about.
When given the choice between making life better for all Americans or inflicting suffering, Republicans will always choose suffering.
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