How consumers feel about healthcare

For the report, Monigle surveyed 30,492 U.S. adults ages 21 and older between September and December 2025 to assess their current feelings about healthcare, as well as their perceptions of certain healthcare brands. The respondents were decision-makers for healthcare in their household, had health insurance (70% private and 30% government, excluding Medicaid), and received medical care in the last two years. None of the respondents worked in healthcare, research, or marketing.

According to the report, healthcare engagement is higher than ever before, up 12% from 2025 and a full eight points more than the previous peak of 108 in 2020. Since engagement has typically only shifted in small increments, the significant jump between 2025 and 2026 is meaningful. 

Between 2025 and 2026, almost every measure on the engagement index increased, including emotional value, proactivity, symbolic value, and topical interest. 

Emotional value, which reflects the peace of mind a consumer feels after receiving healthcare services or treatment, continues to be the strongest indicator of engagement. At the same time, symbolic value, which represents whether consumers believe it's worth the extra cost to go to the best healthcare provider or facility, has increased.

"Together, these signals point to a powerful truth: People are not just engaging more with healthcare; they are placing greater emotional and perceived value on it than ever before," Monigle writes.

However, even with higher engagement and consumers seeing more value from healthcare, category participation, an indicator of avoidance, has not decreased in recent years. "Consumers care deeply about their health, but their perceptions of health systems are somewhat stagnant, often not seeing them as a partner unless something is wrong," Monigle writes, suggesting that "[e]ngagement in health is not the same as engagement with healthcare."

The 20 most-trusted healthcare brands

According to Monigle, the 20 most-trusted healthcare brands were:

1. UT Health Austin
2. Mayo Clinic
3. Emory Healthcare
4. Johns Hopkins Medicine
5. BayCare
6. Penn Medicine
7. Mass General Brigham
8. Duke Health
9.  Mount Sinai Medical Center
10.  UCI Health
11. UT Health San Antonio
12. Bon Secours – St. Francis
13. UVA Health
14. Virtua Health
15. University of Maryland Medical System
16. Hoag
17. Vanderbilt Health
18. University of Iowa Health Care
19. Penn State Health
20. UAB Medicine

Monigle also ranked the top 224 humanizing healthcare brands based on consumer opinion and a composite score from the Humanizing Brand Experience model, weighted by healthcare engagement in each market. The top 10 most human brands were:

1.  University of Iowa Health Care
2. Duke Health
3. UAB Medicine
4. Mass General Brigham
5. TriHealth
6. Johns Hopkins Medicine
7. Houston Methodist
8. The University of Kansas Health System
9. University of Utah Health
10. Emory Healthcare

2. Create ways to build trust with consumers

"The rushed and impersonal feelings consumers have in most healthcare interactions is a root cause of distrust, and it drives compassion gap," Monigle writes. "You can design for how time is felt, clinical interactions are coordinated, and humanity is celebrated."

Three tactics that can help healthcare organizations build trust include incorporating perceived-time principles into how providers and staff interact with patients, creating moments of trust in nonclinical aspects of the healthcare process, and making your system feel as human as the people in it. 

3. Find ways to operationalize compassion

Compassion is not missing from healthcare, but it is unevenly distributed. Monigle recommends healthcare organizations treat compassion as a capability that can be designed, measured, and delivered equally rather than just depending on individuals.

To do so, Monigle recommends organizations view compassion as a set of behaviors rather than a personality trait. Some examples include letting a person complete their story before responding, making eye contact before making a recommendation, and acknowledging what a person is going through before addressing what they came in for.

Organizations should also embed compassion into their leadership and culture. "Leaders who want compassionate experiences on the outside have to engineer compassionate conditions on the inside: workloads that allow for presence, communication that acknowledges strain, and recognition that names the emotional work as work," Monigle writes.

4. Leverage AI more effectively

Although AI is often framed as threat to compassionate care, when the technology is used well it can enhance listening, personalization, and wellness for consumers.

To leverage AI more effectively, leaders should use the technology to elevate consumers' healthcare experience by answering questions before appointments, helping them navigate care, and making complex language more understandable.

"Treat AI as connective tissue, the layer that makes human moments more focused, more informed, and more meaningful," Monigle writes.

5. Lead the disruption consumers are asking for

Consumers have been clear about the health experiences they want, what they're tired of, and alternatives they're willing to try, but many are expecting to see change from tech companies rather than health systems or providers.

"Healthcare brands have a real but narrowing window to be the ones who move," Monigle writes. "The barrier isn't capability. It's action. Most of what consumers are asking for is solvable now, with technology that exists, by organizations that already have the relationships, the data, and the trust to deliver."

"This isn't a moment for caution," Monigle added. "It's a moment for clarity, courage, and the willingness to move while the window is open."