Record 29% call healthcare costs top U.S. problem, Gallup poll finds
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — Rising healthcare costs have emerged as Americans’ most urgent health concern, a shift that is sharpening pressure on hospitals, health systems, and clinics already grappling with tight margins, workforce shortages, and payer friction.
In a report from Gallup, a new West Health-Gallup Health and Healthcare Survey shows that affordability is now shaping how the public judges the entire United States healthcare system.
According to the survey, conducted in November 2025, 29% of Americans now cite the cost of healthcare as the “most urgent health problem” facing the country, up from 23% a year ago. It is the highest level recorded since 2004 and nearly matches the all-time high measured in the early 1990s.
Cost now outweighs concerns about access to care and obesity, underscoring how financial strain has overtaken clinical issues in the public mind.
Rising costs reshape U.S. healthcare providers
For healthcare providers, the findings signal growing patient sensitivity to pricing, billing transparency, and out-of-pocket expenses.
As patients feel squeezed, hospitals and clinics may face higher levels of delayed care, deferred procedures, and bad debt, particularly as premium increases loom for some insured populations.
Public dissatisfaction is especially pronounced at the national level. Just 16% of Americans say they are satisfied with U.S. healthcare costs, the lowest level Gallup has recorded since tracking began in 2001.
At the same time, Americans draw a sharp distinction between the system and their experience: 57% remain satisfied with their personal healthcare costs, and 65% rate their coverage as excellent or good, according to the survey.
This divide presents both a challenge and an opportunity for providers. While trust in individual doctors, hospitals, and clinics remains relatively strong, frustration with the broader system risks spilling over into patient-provider interactions, reimbursement debates, and policy scrutiny.
More Americans see U.S. healthcare in crisis, seek reform
Concerns about affordability and coverage are also feeding darker views of system stability. A record-high 23% of Americans now say the U.S. healthcare system is “in a state of crisis,” while another 47% say it has “major problems,” the survey found. Only 3% believe the system is free of problems.
These attitudes matter for providers navigating regulatory and payment reform. Nearly two-thirds of Americans say it is the federal government’s responsibility to ensure all Americans have healthcare coverage, the highest level since 2007.
Yet the public remains split on structure, with Americans divided between preferring private insurance or a government-run system.
For hospitals and health systems, the cost concerns are no longer a background issue but a defining force.
As patients, policymakers, and payers focus more intensely on affordability, providers may face increasing pressure to demonstrate value, control costs, and communicate more clearly about the price of care, while continuing to deliver outcomes patients trust.
