63% Say U.S. Health Care Has Huge Problems — and That’s an Improvement
Health Care

63% Say U.S. Health Care Has Huge Problems — and That’s an Improvement

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Here’s a nugget of good news: Nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed by Gallup say that the U.S. health care system is in a state of crisis or has major problems. Yes, that’s good news because Gallup says it’s “one of the least negative assessments” since it started tracking the issue in 1994 and the lowest since 2002. Over the last 25 years, the average share of Americans who rate the health care system as being in crisis or having major problems has been 69%.

Of course, the results are clouded by partisan differences in perception of the health care system. Republicans’ negative views have dropped significantly since hitting a peak of 80% in 2016, the last year of President Obama’s second term.

The bottom line: “Americans' perceptions of the state of the U.S. healthcare system have been steady, with between 60% and 70% assessing it as having at least major problems,” Gallup’s Justin McCarthy says. “This has been consistent across four presidencies with differing approaches to healthcare policy.”

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