Americans’ perception of the quality of health care in the U.S. fell to the lowest level since 2001, Gallup found in a poll of U.S. health citizens’ views on health care quality, published December 6, 2024. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2024, only 44% of Americans said that the quality of health care int he U.S. was excellent or good — conversely, 56% of Americans though health care quality was only fair or poor.

By political party, that included 50% of Democrats evaluating the quality of care highly compared with 42% of Republicans.

Only 28% of people in the U.S. told Gallup that health care coverage in America was excellent or good — leaving 72% to believe coverage was poor or fair.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above all, the most urgent health problem facing Americans was cost — cited by nearly one-fourth of Americans. Access and obesity were roughly tied for second place in a list of “most urgent” health problems facing the U.S. (at 14% and 13%, respectively). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a 50/50 era in American politics split between Republicans and Democrats, it is striking to view the third chart which graphs the partisans’ views on health care costs in the U.S.: we see that 19% of Democrats felt generally satisfied with the total cost of healthcare in America, versus 15% of Republicans. This is a major spike downward for Republicans from a high mark of well over 40% of GOP partisans satisfied with the cost of health care in 2020.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

There has been a slight erosion in peoples’ views on the quality  of their own health care since 2020, with quality of care being excellent or good dropping from about 80% of people falling to 71%.

Older people in the U.S. (largely covered by Medicare) and folks with higher incomes tend to rate their health care quality and coverage more positively than younger and less affluent health citizens in America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Health Populi’s Hot Points:  While Democrats and Republicans might have converged in agreement that quality and coverage of health care in the U.S. is unsatisfactory, partisans views on the government’s responsibility to assure health care coverage is strikingly DIvergent.

This graph comes from other data in Gallup’s poll published this month as part of the pollster’s Health and Healthcare Survey assessed health citizens’ views on government’s responsibility for assuring universal health care coverage.

The vast majority (9 in 10) of Democrats believe that it is indeed the Federal government’s responsibility to ensure health care coverage for all people, compared with 65% of Independents and 32% of Republicans. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Similar divergence by party is shown here in partisans’ approval or disapproval of the Affordable Care Act (the ACA, or “Obamacare”). We see  the split between Democrats, Independents, and Republicans in the last chart from the Gallup poll here, with 94% of Democrats approving the ACA, versus 53% of Independents and 19% of Republicans.

This teases the question for 2025 and beyond: what “concepts” might President Trump #47 have in store to potentially repeal and replace the ACA? This question currently sits in my scenario planning work with clients, brainstorming the alternative futures for covering U.S. health citizens in the coming years…..or not doing so.

Plan for flexibility and agility when it comes to this question and the many implications flowing out of the various future states.