As health care becomes increasingly unaffordable for Americans, a new national poll finds that voters from across the political spectrum want Congress and the administration to take action to reduce health care costs. Voters identified high hospital prices as one of their top concerns, with large majorities supporting a range of policies aimed at lowering the prices that patients and their families pay for health care.
This includes addressing the largest driver of health care costs for the privately insured – the high and rising prices hospitals charge. Voters view hospital prices as not only too high, but unreasonable given the care that patients receive. At a time when 83% say it is increasingly difficult for Americans to afford health care, up from 78% in 2021, these poll results underscore the urgent need for meaningful reforms.
Conducted in November by a bipartisan polling team including Guy Molyneaux (Hart Research) and Bob Ward (Fabrizio Ward), the survey shows that 84% of voters – 83% of Trump and 88% of Harris voters – say it is important for Congress to act on hospital prices in the next two years.
Voters voiced strong support for policies to lower hospital prices such as expanding site-neutral payments, addressing hospital consolidation, and banning anticompetitive practices. This includes broad, bipartisan support for aggressive action, such as directly limiting the prices hospitals can charge – supported by 75% of Trump voters and 80% of Harris voters.
of voters identified reducing health care prices as a critical issue, ranking it as a top priority for Congress and the president.
Key Findings:
- A majority (51%) of voters say it is personally difficult for them to afford health care, up from 41% in 2021.
- More than 4 in 10 voters report that they or a family member have forgone health care due to cost.
- 71% of voters – 72% of Trump voters and 70% of Harris voters – feel that the prices being charged by hospitals are unreasonable.
- Proposals to lower hospital prices have support from overwhelming majorities across the political spectrum:
- 90% of voters support requiring hospitals to fully disclose the prices they charge
- 84% of voters support site-neutral payment policies that would prevent hospitals from charging more than a doctor’s office for routine services
- 83% of voters support banning facility fees that hospitals charge for outpatient services or telehealth visits
- 80% of voters support ownership transparency and requiring hospitals and physician groups to disclose entities (such as private equity firms or other corporate entities) that own them or have a controlling stake
- 76% of voters support limiting the prices hospitals can charge to two times the price Medicare pays
- 75% of voters support banning the anti-competitive business practices that hospitals engage in
- 74% of voters support strengthening oversight of nonprofit hospitals to ensure they fulfill their charitable mission and earn their tax breaks
- Voters’ main concern: that Congress will not do enough to lower hospital prices (64%), not that it will go too far (23%).
