Health care ranks as top domestic concern in latest Gallup polling

Health care ranks as top domestic concern in latest Gallup polling 

For the first time in more than five years, cost and access to health care ranked as the top domestic issue of concern in the latest polling by Gallup, outpacing issues like the economy and inflation. 

In new polling conducted during March, 61 percent of those who participated said they personally worry a great deal about “the availability and affordability of healthcare.” Overall, 94 percent said they were worried about this issue to some degree. 

Ninety-five percent of participants said they were concerned about the economy on some level, but within this group 51 percent said they were concerned “a great deal.” 

These polling numbers come just days after the most recent figures on Affordable Care Enrollment were released, indicating that more than 1 million people dropped out of coverage for 2026 when compared to last year. When the ACA enhanced premium tax subsidies expired, a drop in enrollment was anticipated. 

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), 23.1 million consumers selected or were re-enrolled in coverage through HealthCare.gov and state-based exchanges. In 2025, CMS reported that 24.2 million people had signed up for coverage, an all-time high. 

“Healthcare has reclaimed its position as Americans’ foremost domestic concern, returning to the top tier after several years when economic matters commanded more attention,” Gallup stated in its polling report. 

“While the percentage highly worried about the availability and affordability of healthcare hasn’t increased over the past year, ongoing public concerns about healthcare costs, including personal challenges in affording care, make this a perennial concern.” 

Read more here from The Hill’s Sophie Brams 

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, I’m Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:

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Health care polling as top issue for first time since 2020: Gallup

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Branch out with a different read:

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Local and state headlines on health care:

Applications for Medicaid spike in Nevada (Nevada Current) 

Trump administration still giving private health data to ICE, California and other states argue (San Francisco Chronicle) 

Idaho Senate approves oversight committee of federal rural health care grant (Idaho Capital Sun) 

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Sources: White House to propose 20 percent cut to NIH funding (Roll Call) 

Fentanyl vaccine begins trial in effort to prevent overdoses (Bloomberg) 

Drugmakers delay some European launches with a wary eye on Trump’s pricing policies (Reuters) 

Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill:

A $22.5 million warning for the return-to-office era

Another global health crisis is gaining momentum. We need to be prepared.

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