Gallup: 19% of Americans are satisfied with healthcare costs

The vast majority of people in the U.S. are dissatisfied with the cost of healthcare, according to researchers. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who would rate the quality of U.S. healthcare as excellent or good has hit its lowest point in more than two decades.

Research and polling firm Gallup's annual Health and Healthcare poll, released Friday, found that 11% of Americans said healthcare quality was excellent and 33% said it was good. Additionally, nearly 80% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the cost of healthcare. 

Related: Healthcare costs to grow 8% next year: PwC

The survey was conducted through telephone interviews between Nov. 6 and Nov. 20 among a random sample of 1,001 adults across all 50 states.

Respondents from both sides of the aisle are largely unhappy with the cost of healthcare. Only 15% of Republicans or Republican-leaning individuals said they were satisfied with costs in 2024, along with 19% of Democrats and 19% of U.S. adults overall. Rates of satisfaction with healthcare costs among U.S. adults have remained relatively stagnant at an average of 22% since Gallup first began conducting its survey in 2001.

When asked about what they saw as the most urgent health problem facing the country, survey participants' number-one response was cost, followed by access and obesity.

Consumer prices for medical care have risen 119.2% in the past four years, compared with an increase of 85% for all goods and services, according to a May report from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, which monitors the healthcare industry's quality and cost performances.

Additionally, PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute said in July commercial healthcare costs are projected to increase by 8% in the next year due in part to an increased demand for behavioral services and expensive medications such as glucagon-like peptide agonists. Such shifts in spending are likely to significantly impact insurance premiums and businesses’ budgets.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary said in June national health expenditures from consumers will rise to $7.7 trillion and compose nearly one-fifth of the U.S. economy by 2032, increasing by an average of 5.6% per year.