A recently released Gallup poll revealed that, for the first time in 20 years, less than half of all Americans are very satisfied with the quality of the health care system in the United States. The poll indicated that only 48 percent of Americans rated the quality of the health care system as “excellent”—a notable decline from 2010 when 62 percent of Americans rated the quality of health care as “excellent.”1
The poll, conducted from Nov. 9, 2022 to Dec. 2, 2022, revealed that a slight majority of Americans now rate health care quality as substandard, with 31 percent rating it as “only fair” and a new high of 21 percent calling it “poor.”
Gallup attributed the rise in dissatisfaction in health care quality to partisan political views. The poll indicated that Republicans’ view of health care quality declined in 2014 after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act but increased during the Trump administration. The rating of health care quality has decreased among Republicans again during the last few years during the Biden administration, with 75 percent saying the quality was “good” in 2019 to 56 percent rating it as “good” in the latest Gallup poll.2
In addition, rating of the quality of healthcare they personally receive also decreased among Americans to 72 percent giving it an “excellent” or “good” ranking. This figure has been decreasing in the last two of years, falling from 76 percent in 2021 to 72 percent in 2022.3
Dissatisfaction With Costs Causing Americans to Delay Medical Care
American satisfaction with the cost of health care in the U.S. has remained steady for over the past 20 years, with only 24 percent satisfied and 76 percent dissatisfied. The percentage of people satisfied has averaged 22 percent since 2001, only increasing to 30 percent in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.4
In 2022, 38 percent of Americans polled said that either they or a family member postponed medical treatment—a 12 percent increase over a one-year period. One reason for this increase in the number of people postponing medical treatment is the growth in inflation in the U.S. which make more medical services more expensive.
Poll results showed that Americans were more than twice as likely to delay treatment in their family for a serious illness rather than for a less serious condition. Among those who said they delayed medical treatment, 27 percent of respondents said the treatment was for a “very” or “somewhat” serious illness, while 11 percent said it was for a “not very” or “not at all” serious illness. Younger adults, people in lower-income households, and women were more than likely to report that they or a family member had to delay medical care.5
Source: Gallup Poll: More Americans Dissatisfied With Quality of Health Care