The data: Americans are more worried about healthcare access and affordability than any other issue facing the US today, according to a March Gallup survey of 1,000 adults. (Notably, the survey was conducted before the Iran war intensified, so respondents were not asked about it.)

Digging into the data: 61% of all respondents say they have a “great deal” of concern about the affordability and availability of US healthcare. That’s at least 10 percentage points higher than any other domestic issue, including the economy, inflation, government spending, income inequality, terrorism, and crime.

Political affiliation strongly shapes the issues people worry about.

• Healthcare is the top concern for both Democrats (80%) and independents (66%).
• Conversely, illegal immigration is the chief concern of Republicans, at 55%, followed by federal spending and the budget deficit (47%).
• 31% of Republicans say they worry a great deal about healthcare, ranking it seventh among their concerns.

Consumers are less concerned about most major domestic issues than they were last year—healthcare is one of the only exceptions.

• For example, in 2025, 60% said they worried a great deal about the economy, compared with 51% in this year’s survey.
• The share of people with a great deal of concern about crime and violence fell 8 percentage points year over year, while concern about illegal immigration dropped 7 points.
• Healthcare is one of only three issues—alongside wealth distribution and the environment—where concern is rising. The 61% who cited having a great deal of concern over healthcare costs and access is up from 59% last year and 51% in 2024.

Why it matters: Recent research has shown that healthcare affordability is as big, or bigger, a concern for people than other recurring expenses, such as groceries and monthly bills. Affordability has especially worsened for millions of Americans in the ACA marketplace who have lost coverage or seen premiums surge.

But this latest data puts consumers’ healthcare access and affordability concerns in a different category—one alongside the hot-button political issues dominating the president’s and other politicians’ talking points. And it’s the first time healthcare has been ranked as the top US consumer issue since Gallup’s survey in 2020, which was the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implications for healthcare companies: While Democrats and independents are more likely to report concerns over healthcare costs, politicians across party lines use survey data like this to target "usual suspects" like pharma and insurers. Hospitals, despite high prices, often escape the harshest criticism because of their direct connection to patient care.

Healthcare stakeholders accused of being profit-driven rather than patient-driven aren’t likely to make meaningful changes overnight. But they should brace for intensifying attacks and growing scrutiny of their businesses from both public and private sectors as midterms approach. Instead of continuing to shift blame onto another industry stakeholder, they have an opportunity to build some goodwill by clearly communicating the steps they’ve taken to make healthcare at least a little more affordable for patients.

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