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Americans are concerned about the rising costs of healthcare and its rising costs health insurance premiums.
A Gallup poll released last week found that health care is the most important domestic issue facing Americans among the 16 policy areas included in the survey, with 61% saying they are very concerned about access to and affordability of health care.
Healthcare Topping the list of domestic concerns marks a resurgence in prominence for the issue, as the issue was last the top issue in voters’ minds in 2020 – a position it held from 2015. The issue was roughly tied to the economy in 2025, but is now ahead by ten points.
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The poll found that health care was a concern for a majority of voters political groupswith 89% of Democrats, 80% of Independents and 72% of Republicans saying they are “extremely” or “very concerned” about health care.
Concerns about healthcare were also widespread among all age groups, with 77% of respondents under 45 and 83% of respondents over 45 feeling extremely or very concerned about healthcare – views shared by 86% of people aged 65 and over.
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Congress allowed the enhanced premium tax credit to expire at the end of 2025. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
US consumers have faced rising health insurance premiums in recent years, with prices rising this year due to month-end additional subsidy for consumers.
Health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is subsidized through a premium tax credit available to lower- and some middle-income households. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress added another subsidy on top of the basic subsidy.
However, the Trump administration and Congress allowed the increased pandemic-era subsidy to expire late last year, which has pushed premiums higher.
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Health insurance subsidies will be smaller in the 2026 plan year, after the enhanced premium tax credits were allowed to expire, leaving only the basic tax credit. (Getty Images)
An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a nonprofit organization focused on national health care policy, estimated last year that the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits would result in annual copayments rising by more than $1,000 this year — a 114% increase from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026.
Health insurers have also been raising premiums for non-Obamacare plans for years, which experts have attributed to higher health care costs.
Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) shows that consumers switched to cheaper health insurance in the 2026 open enrollment period compared to the previous year.
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The CMS data shows that in 2025, 56% of enrollees had a silver plan, while 30% had a bronze plan. In contrast, the data for 2026 shows that 40% of enrollees have a bronze subscription and 43% a silver subscription. The share of enrollees in Gold Tier plans also rose from 13% in 2025 to 17% this year.
