Three-quarters of Americans say healthcare is a top voting issue

For the survey, USofCare partnered with ZS Associates and polled 2,732 adults ages 18 and older who live in the United States and are registered to vote between June 12 and July 21.

Over half of respondents (56%) said healthcare is unaffordable, and 49% said it feels more expensive than it did a year ago. Just one in five respondents said they were able to pay for care without any difficulty.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) said they feel frustrated, overwhelmed, or helpless about healthcare costs while just 17% of respondents said they feel hopeful. Frustration was highest among those with employer-sponsored coverage (54%), while satisfaction with the healthcare system was highest among Medicare enrollees (66%) and veterans (60%).

As a result of these feelings, most respondents said that healthcare is going to be a top-three issue determining their vote in the midterms this year, which includes majorities among Democrats, Republicans, and independents.

When asked how much they think the U.S. healthcare system needs to change, respondents were virtually split down the middle, with 48% saying they wanted major or radical reform and 52% saying they wanted more targeted improvements.

Discussion

Venice Haynes, senior director of research and community engagement at USofCare, said that when the company first asked people what they expected from their healthcare in 2021, they said they wanted care that was "affordable, dependable, personalized, and easy to navigate." That remains the case in 2026.

Davis added that the differences in how important healthcare was as a voting issue between political parties are marginal.

"Not only are people saying that they're going to vote on it now, but that their feelings of frustration — overwhelming and helplessness — are really driving the desire for government to do something about it," she said.

This will likely be the case in not only the midterms, but also the 2028 presidential election. "We believe there's a real chance for reform in [2029], regardless of who's elected … The mandate's just too loud and too big," Davis said, adding that she believes "the call for action is only going to get louder."

The industry hasn't come up with solutions, so "I think that's going to require the government to," Davis said.