Across party lines and insurance types, Americans identify affordability as the biggest problem in the U.S. healthcare system, with 42% pointing to the cost of health insurance premiums and 36% to out-of-pocket costs, according to a Commonwealth Fund survey published Aug. 13.
The survey, conducted with SSRS from May 4-26, drew responses from 25,873 U.S. adults, with the analysis focused on 25,858 respondents ages 19 and older. It arrives as insurers propose 2027 rate increases, including a median 14% bump for small group plans.
Concern about premiums were shared across the political spectrum: 45% of Republicans, 44% of Democrats and 42% of Independents named premiums their top concern, with out-of-pocket costs close behind. More than 8 in 10 people with employer, individual or marketplace coverage, and those without insurance, cited premiums or out-of-pocket spending.
Views diverged on who should fix it. Among respondents who named premiums the biggest problem, 51% said the federal government is best able to address them, including 65% of Democrats, 49% of independents and 36% of Republicans. Republicans were more likely to point to insurance companies, at 40%, compared with 28% of independents and 19% of Democrats. On out-of-pocket costs, 48% of Republicans named insurance companies, versus 35% of independents and 30% of Democrats.
“Across the political spectrum, Americans are telling us the same thing: they’re struggling to afford both their health insurance and the care it is supposed to cover,” Sara Collins, PhD, senior scholar for expanding coverage and access and tracking health system performance at the Commonwealth Fund, said in an Aug. 13 news release shared with Becker’s.
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