83% of Americans Believe There Is a Health Care Affordability Crisis on Our Hands

ValuePenguin surveyed a national sample to understand people’s true feelings on the health care issue that is center stage for political debate and to gain additional insight into the true priorities of Americans.

Key findings

1 in 5 say health care is the most important reason they support that candidate

With still considerable time before the 2020 presidential election, 58% of men and 43% of women surveyed have identified which candidate they support. Republicans are more conclusive with their decision, with 72% identifying a candidate for 2020 (compared to just 61% of Democrats).

Health care is not the sole force to determine candidate selection. ValuePenguin’s survey found that there are a host of hot-button issues in addition to health care, including jobs and the economy, the ability to win an election and immigration.

Health care was the top-ranking reason for presidential support for Democrats, yet Republicans see the economy and immigration as more important.

Most important reason for 2020 presidential candidate support

What is responsible for the current health care crisis?

Over 4 in 5 Americans feel as though the country is currently in a health care affordability crisis, and 42% of survey respondents blame the government. Women were more likely to fault the government than men.

A majority of people did report satisfaction with their current health insurance plan — 68%, to be exact. This was consistent across the aisle and among men and women. The price of premiums and deductibles was the leading cause of dissatisfaction among those not happy with their current policy.

Leading cause of Americans’ dissatisfaction with their health insurance

Generational views of the U.S. health care position

Nearly 61% of baby boomers were dissatisfied due to premium and deductible increases. Republicans and those earning over $100,000 annually were also more likely to be unhappy with the rising price of health care.

Just over 47% of Gen Zers have difficulty understanding what is and is not covered in their health insurance plan. This sense of confusion was also shared among 38% of those with an annual income ranging from $25,000 to $34,999.

Millennials and Gen Yers expressed frustration with the lack of in-network providers, with over 1 in 5 respondents from each age group dissatisfied.

43% of Americans would be angry if they were required to switch health insurance providers

Republicans would be more angered than Democrats to be required to switch health insurance providers, yet 27% of Democrats remain undecided when it comes to their feelings on the matter.

With 66% of Americans feeling loyalty toward their health care provider, they may not want to risk having to change providers. When asked what (if anything) they would sacrifice, if it meant every American would be able to obtain affordable health care, ValuePenguin discovered that 35% of people would not sacrifice anything for universal health care.

Sacrifices for universal health care

2 in 3 Democrats are willing to pay more in taxes for universal health care compared to only 1 in 3 Republicans

Approximately half of Americans are willing to pay more in taxes for universal health care; however, this is heavily skewed toward Democrats. Over 66% of Democrats would pay more, compared to only 36% of Republicans.

While nearly 70% of people would be interested in obtaining Medicare for All, the results varied drastically by age. It is important to note that 55% of respondents believe there should be private health insurance options in addition to Medicare, and that a universal plan should not be the only option.

Who is most in favor of having private coverage options in addition to Medicare?

Who would be most likely to drop current coverage and enroll in Medicare if there was no age requirement?

Methodology

To determine Americans’ feelings toward health insurance, ValuePenguin commissioned Qualtrics to conduct an online survey of 1,155 Americans.