Insurance premiums, copays top Americans’ list of healthcare gripes
Regardless of political affiliation or the type of medical coverage they have, 4 out of 5 adults in the U.S. cite the cost of premiums and out-of-pocket expenditures as their biggest complaints about the American healthcare system.
According to a new survey from the Commonwealth Fund that aimed to measure what Americans see as the top problems in need of fixing in healthcare, there were few political divides. Across the board, 45% of Republicans, 44% of Democrats and 42% of independents all said insurance premiums were their number one concern.
Other options included getting approval for patient care, finding a doctor and other expenses such as coinsurance and copays.
On the latter, 80% of those with commercial insurance ranked either premiums or out-of-pocket costs as their biggest issue, signaling that the price tag for access to patient care is weighing heaviest on the minds of Americans.
Commercial insurance is defined as any coverage gained through an employer or bought via a government exchange. However, lumped in that 80% were also the uninsured, who cited premiums and copays as their greatest healthcare challenge.
“Americans across the political spectrum are united in their struggle to afford the cost of health insurance and health care. Medical cost trends projected for 2027 are the highest in nearly two decades and employers are responding by shifting more costs onto workers—through higher cost sharing, tighter utilization management, reduced benefits like prescription drugs, and narrower provider networks,” the nonprofit policy research group wrote in its report. “At the same time, policy changes enacted by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have helped drive up premiums in the Affordable Care Act marketplace by more than 20 percent in 2026.”
“As a result of these changes, health insurance enrollment is down and insurers are requesting a double-digit increase in premiums, likely because they suspect healthier people are leaving the marketplace, leaving sicker and costlier enrollees. These trends will continue to make health care even more unaffordable for Americans.”
Different strokes for different folks
There was some variation based on political leanings, but it came down to how to best solve the problem of high costs. For Democrats, a large majority (65%) said they believed the federal government was the best way to address the issue, but only a small minority (36%) of Republicans agreed.
Coming in right down the middle were independents, 49% of whom responded that they felt the federal government was best positioned to address rising medical insurance premiums and related issues such as copays.
Notably, Republicans were also the most likely (40% of respondents) to say that insurance companies could solve the problem of costs on their own, while only 19% of Democrats agreed with that sentiment.
The report from the Commonwealth Fund is based on responses from 25,873 adults, polled from May 4 to May 26.
For more, read the full findings of the survey here.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.