Healthcare System

Next, we'd like to read a list of several aspects of the U.S. healthcare system. For each, please tell me if you think the medical care or medical services they provide are generally excellent, good, only fair or poor? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

	Excellent	Good	Only fair	Poor	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
Hospitals
2023 Nov 1-21	12	46	29	11	1
2010 Nov 4-7 ^	16	56	20	7	1
2003 Nov 3-5	14	56	22	7	1
Physicians
2023 Nov 1-21	20	49	26	5	*
2010 Nov 4-7 ^	26	58	11	4	1
2003 Nov 3-5	19	62	15	4	*
Nurses
2023 Nov 1-21	33	49	14	3	*
2010 Nov 4-7 ^	31	57	11	1	1
2003 Nov 3-5	26	59	12	1	2
Nursing homes
2023 Nov 1-21	4	21	33	37	6
2010 Nov 4-7 ^	3	30	33	16	18
2003 Nov 3-5	3	26	39	20	12
Pharmaceutical or drug companies
2023 Nov 1-21	9	24	33	33	1
2010 Nov 4-7 ^	12	42	26	18	2
2003 Nov 3-5	10	43	30	15	2
Health insurance companies
2023 Nov 1-21	5	26	36	32	1
2010 Nov 4-7 ^	6	36	32	24	2
2003 Nov 3-5	3	30	44	21	2
Hospital emergency rooms
2023 Nov 1-21	15	32	34	19	1
2010 Nov 4-7 ^	17	43	27	10	3
2003 Nov 3-5	15	47	24	12	2
Walk-in clinics
2023 Nov 1-21 ^	11	45	34	8	2
2010 Nov 4-7 ^	9	45	25	7	15
2003 Nov 3-5	6	45	27	8	14
Telemedicine or virtual doctor visits
2023 Nov 1-21	10	42	31	11	6
Urgent care clinics
2023 Nov 1-21 ^	11	45	31	11	2
^ Asked of a half sample; * Less than 0.5%
Gallup

When your doctor gives you important medical advice, which comes closer to your view -- [ROTATED: you usually feel confident in the accuracy of your doctor's advice, (or) you usually feel it is necessary to check for second opinions or do your own research on the subject]?

	Confident in advice accuracy	Check/Do more research	No opinion
	%	%	%
2021 Nov 1-16	64	35	1
2010 Nov 4-7^	70	29	1
2002 Nov 11-14	64	34	2
^ Asked of a half sample
Gallup

Would you say you have -- [ROTATED: more trust and confidence, about the same amount, or less trust and confidence] -- in your doctor than you did a year ago?

	More	About the same	Less	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2021 Nov 1-16	17	65	16	1
2002 Nov 11-14 ^	25	57	11	7
^ Asked of a half sample
gallup

Taking into consideration both your risk of contracting it and the seriousness of the illness, how worried are you personally about experiencing the following illnesses -- very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried or not worried at all? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

	Very worried	Somewhat worried	Not too worried	Not worried at all	Already have (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Cancer
2021 Nov 1-16	13	37	25	23	1	*
2003 Nov 3-5	16	47	19	17	1	--
Heart disease or heart attack
2021 Nov 1-16	10	34	27	28	1	*
2003 Nov 3-5	13	42	21	22	2	*
COVID-19
2021 Nov 1-16	12	29	24	35	*	--
Stroke
2021 Nov 1-16	8	27	27	37	*	*
2003 Nov 3-5	9	34	28	28	1	--
Diabetes
2021 Nov 1-16	8	23	24	39	7	*
2003 Nov 3-5	11	29	23	33	4	--
Influenza, or the flu
2021 Nov 1-16	3	21	32	44	--	*
2003 Nov 3-5	4	30	29	37	*	*
AIDS
2021 Nov 1-16	5	4	15	76	--	*
2003 Nov 3-5	7	9	18	66	--	--
Gallup

Since the Affordable Care Act went into effect about 10 years ago, which, if any, of the following has happened to you or your household as a direct result of that law?

	Yes	No	No opinion
	%	%	%
Your health insurance premiums went up	53	44	3
You had more medical services covered in your plan than in the past	36	61	2
You obtained health insurance coverage when you didn't have it before	28	70	1
You kept or added an adult child up to age 26 on your health plan	22	78	*
You had to change to a different primary doctor	21	78	1
You had to give up a medical plan you liked because it didn't comply with the law's requirements	21	78	1
You obtained coverage for a pre-existing medical condition when you didn't have it before	20	79	1
Your health insurance premiums went down	17	80	3
*Less than 0.5%.
Gallup, Feb. 17-28, 2020

Next, we'd like you to think about how the United States compares with all other modern, industrialized nations in the world in several areas. For each of the following, please say if conditions in the United States are the best, above average, average, below average or the worst, relative to all other modern industrialized countries. The healthcare system

	The best	Above average	Average	Below average	The worst	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2018 Aug 6-12	10	17	27	33	12	1
2012 Dec 14-17	10	19	33	32	6	1
Gallup

Since the Affordable Care Act went into effect a few years ago, do you think it has been -- [ROTATED: very successful, somewhat successful, somewhat unsuccessful (or) very unsuccessful] in -- Expanding Americans' access to healthcare coverage?

	Very successful	Somewhat successful	Somewhat unsuccessful	Very unsuccessful	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
2017 Nov 2-8	23	42	16	17	3
Gallup

Since the Affordable Care Act went into effect a few years ago, do you think it has been -- [ROTATED: very successful, somewhat successful, somewhat unsuccessful (or) very unsuccessful] in -- Reducing the cost of healthcare for Americans?

	Very successful	Somewhat successful	Somewhat unsuccessful	Very unsuccessful	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
2017 Nov 2-8	9	38	21	29	4
Gallup

As you may know, some senators have proposed a "Medicare-for-all," single-payer health insurance program that would be administered by the federal government and financed through taxes. Please tell me if you favor or oppose this proposal, or if you don't know enough to say?

	Favor	Oppose	Don't know enough to say	No answer
	%	%	%	%
2017 Nov 2-8	17	21	61	*
Gallup

As you may know, a number of the provisions of the healthcare law have already gone into effect. So far, has the new law -- [ROTATED: helped you and your family, not had an effect, (or has it) hurt you and your family]?

	Helped	Had no effect	Hurt	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2016 Aug 30-31	18	51	29	3
2016 May 6-8	22	50	26	2
2015 Jul 1-5 ^	18	55	25	2
2015 Apr 1-4 ^	17	57	23	4
2014 Oct 1-2 ^	16	54	27	3
2014 May 21-25 ^	14	59	24	4
2014 Apr 7-8 ^	15	64	18	3
2014 Feb 28-Mar 2 ^	10	63	23	4
2014 Jan 31-Feb 1 ^	13	64	19	4
2014 Jan 3-4 ^	10	66	19	4
2013 Nov 23-24 ^	9	69	19	4
2012 Feb 20-21 ^	12	70	16	3
^ WORDING: "As you may know, a few of the provisions of the healthcare law...."
Gallup

So far, has the law -- [ROTATED: helped the healthcare situation in the U.S., not had an effect (or has it) hurt the healthcare situation in the U.S.]?

	Helped	No effect	Hurt	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2016 Aug 30-31	37	12	45	6
2016 May 6-8	39	14	40	7
Gallup

In the long run, how do you think the healthcare law will affect your family's healthcare situation? Will it -- [ROTATED: make things better, not make much difference (or will it) make things worse]?

	Make better	Not make much difference	Make worse	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2016 Aug 30-31 ^	24	37	36	2
2016 May 6-8 ^	26	39	33	1
2015 Apr 1-4 ^	24	41	32	3
2014 Oct 1-2 ^	23	35	38	5
2014 May 21-25 ^	22	39	36	3
2014 Apr 7-8 ^	24	42	32	3
2014 Feb 28-Mar 2 ^	21	36	40	3
2014 Jan 31-Feb 1 ^	24	34	37	5
2014 Jan 3-4 ^	22	35	37	5
2013 Nov 23-24 ^	20	34	41	5
2013 Oct 26-28 ^	25	36	34	5
2013 Aug 17-18 ^	24	34	38	5
2013 Jun 20-24 #	23	33	42	3
2012 Feb 20-21 ^@	24	34	38	5
^Asked on Gallup Daily tracking poll; #WORDING: "Now suppose all of the provisions of the healthcare law go into effect in the next few years...."
Gallup

In the long run, how do you think the healthcare law will affect the healthcare situation in the U.S.? Will it -- [ROTATED: make things better, not make much difference (or will it) make things worse]?

	Make better	Not make much difference	Make worse	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2016 Aug 30-31 ^	37	15	45	4
2016 May 6-8 ^	40	16	41	2
2015 Apr 1-4 ^	37	16	43	4
2014 Oct 1-2 ^	36	15	46	4
2014 May 21-25 ^	37	16	44	4
2014 Apr 7-8 ^	37	15	45	3
2014 Feb 28-Mar 2 ^	35	14	48	3
2014 Jan 31-Feb 1 ^	35	14	45	6
2014 Jan 3-4 ^	35	12	48	6
2013 Nov 23-24 ^	34	12	48	6
2013 Oct 26-28 ^	36	14	44	6
2013 Aug 17-18 ^	35	15	44	6
2013 Jun 20-24 #	34	16	47	3
^Asked on Gallup Daily tracking poll
Gallup

Within the last twelve months, have you or a member of your family put off any sort of medical treatment because of the cost you would have to pay? [Asked of those who put off medical treatment due to cost] And when you put off medical treatment, was it for you, another family member or both?

	Yes, for self	Yes, for other family member	Yes, for both	No, did not	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
2015 Nov 4-8	16	6	9	68	1
* Less than 0.5%
Gallup

(Asked of uninsured adults) According to the Affordable Care Act, most Americans will be required to have health insurance or pay a fine. Were you aware of this before now, or not?

	Yes, aware	No, not aware	No opinion
	%	%	%
2014 Oct 22-Nov 12	70	28	1
2014 Mar 1-31	76	24	1
2014 Feb 1-28	77	23	1
2014 Jan 1-31	72	27	1
2013 Dec 1-31	80	20	*
2013 Nov 1-30	80	20	*
2013 Oct 7-31	77	23	1
2013 Sep 17-26	68	31	1
2013 Jun 20-24 ^	56	43	*
* Less than 0.5%; ^ WORDING: WORDING: As you may know, under the terms of the Affordable Care Act, starting January 1st most Americans will be required..."
Gallup

(Asked of uninsured Americans) As I mentioned, Americans without health insurance either have to get health insurance or pay a fine. Given what you know, as of right now, would you say you are -- [ROTATED: more likely to get health insurance (or) more likely to pay the fine]?

	Get insurance	Pay the fine	No opinion
	%	%	%
2014 Oct 22-Nov 12	55	35	10
2014 Mar 1-31	56	35	9
2014 Feb 1-28	55	37	8
2014 Jan 1-31	54	38	9
2013 Dec 1-31 ^	60	31	9
2013 Nov 1-30 ^	63	29	8
2013 Oct 7-31 ^	61	30	9
2013 Sep 17-26 ^	65	25	11
^ WORDING: "Beginning January 1, 2014, Americans without health insurance will either have to get health insurance or pay a fine...."
Gallup

(Asked of uninsured adults who plan to get insurance) Do you plan to get health insurance for 2014 specifically through a state or federal health insurance exchange, or not?

	Through an exchange	Not through an exchange	Undecided (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2014 Oct 22-Nov 12	50	29	11	10
2014 Mar 1-31	57	23	11	9
2014 Feb 1-28	53	26	12	9
2014 Jan 1-31	55	23	11	11
2013 Dec 1-31 ^	50	33	10	8
2013 Nov 1-30 ^	46	38	9	7
2013 Oct 7-31 ^	45	36	13	6
(vol.) = Volunteered response; ^ WORDING: [Do you plan to get / (if signed up for 2014 in 2013): Have you gotten] health insurance....?"
Gallup

Do you think it would be justified or unjustified to set higher health insurance rates for people who smoke?

	Yes, justified	No, unjustified	No opinion
	%	%	%
2014 Jul 7-10	58	40	2
2013 Jul 10-14	58	40	2
2011 Jul 7-10	60	38	2
2005 Jul 7-10 ^	64	35	1
2003 Jul 7-9	65	34	1
^ Asked of a half sample
Gallup

Do you think it would be justified or unjustified to set higher health insurance rates for people who are significantly overweight?

	Yes, justified	No, unjustified	No opinion
	%	%	%
2014 Jul 7-10	39	59	2
2013 Jul 10-14	41	56	3
2011 Jul 7-10	42	57	1
2008 Jul 10-13 ^	34	63	3
2005 Jul 7-10 ^	37	61	2
2003 Jul 7-9	43	55	2
^ Asked of a half sample
Gallup

(Asked of those who approve of the 2010 healthcare law) What are some of the reasons why you approve of the 2010 healthcare law? [OPEN-ENDED]

	2013 Nov 7-10
	%
Makes healthcare accessible to more people	23
Fair/Right that everyone should have health insurance	15
Provides more health insurance options	14
Controls costs/Makes healthcare more affordable	14
Covers people with pre-existing conditions	12
Something needed to be done on healthcare	9
Affordable insurance premiums	7
Allows parents to cover children longer on their plans	4
Keeps people from using emergency rooms for general healthcare	2
Moves country closer to universal healthcare	2
Provides preventive care for more people	2
Government should be in charge of healthcare/regulate it	2
Makes people accountable for their own healthcare	1
Increases quality of healthcare	1
Other	4
No opinion	9
Percentages total more than 100% due to multiple responses
Gallup

(Asked of those who disapprove of the 2010 healthcare law) What are some of the reasons why you disapprove of the 2010 healthcare law? [OPEN-ENDED]

	2013 Nov 7-10
	%
Government interference/Forcing people to do things	37
Increases costs/Makes healthcare less affordable	21
Respondent lost insurance	11
Not working/A big mess/Hurting people	8
Not well planned/Poorly designed/Website issues	8
President lied about plan/Not what he said it would be	7
Paying for others' insurance (non-citizens, foreigners)	6
Complicated/Don't understand	4
Not fair	3
Too many changes in coverage/coverage requirements	3
Don't like it/Not happy with it	3
People are losing jobs because of it	2
Don't get to keep doctors/Creates doctor shortage	2
Tax increase	2
Not happy with government fines	2
Making economy worse	1
Destroying healthcare in general	1
Other	3
No opinion	6
Percentages total more than 100% due to multiple responses
Gallup

(Asked of those without health insurance) What would you say is the main reason you don't have health insurance? Any other reasons? [OPEN-ENDED]

	2013 Jun 20-24
	%
Can't afford/Costs too much	43
Unemployed	24
Haven't gotten it yet/Need to get	9
Job does not provide it	8
Don't need it/Healthy/Don't get sick	7
Self-employed	2
Disability	2
Use VA hospital/Veteran	2
Other	11
Percentages total more than 100% due to multiple responses
Gallup

Now I am going to read you a list of institutions in American society. Please tell me how much confidence you, yourself, have in each one -- a great deal, quite a lot, some or very little? Health Maintenance Organizations, HMOs

	Great deal	Quite a lot	Some	Very little	None (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2013 Jun 1-4	8	11	45	29	2	4
2012 Jun 7-10	8	11	44	29	3	6
2011 Jun 9-12	7	12	39	35	4	4
2010 Jul 8-11	8	11	43	28	4	5
2009 Jun 14-17	8	10	44	31	4	3
2008 Jun 9-12	6	7	41	38	3	5
2007 Jun 11-14	7	8	39	38	4	4
2006 Jun 1-4	6	9	40	33	5	6
2005 May 23-25	7	10	43	35	2	3
2004 May 21-23	6	12	39	36	4	3
2003 Jun 9-10	7	10	39	38	4	2
2002 Jun 21-23	5	8	36	42	5	4
2001 Jun 8-10	7	8	34	40	7	4
2000 Jun 22-25	6	10	35	38	7	4
1999 Jun 25-27	8	9	34	42	4	3
(vol.) = Volunteered response; * Less than 0.5%
Gallup

In general, would you say that the 2010 healthcare law recently upheld by the Supreme Court will make things better or worse for each of the following? How about ... [RANDOM ORDER]?

	Better	Worse	Same (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
People who currently do not have health insurance	59	32	2	6
People who get sick	55	34	2	8
Hospitals	45	45	2	8
You, personally	38	42	13	7
Doctors	37	51	3	9
People who currently have health insurance	36	46	10	8
Businesses	33	57	3	8
Taxpayers	30	60	3	8
July 9-12, 2012; (vol.)=volunteered response
Gallup

As you may know, two years ago, Congress passed a law that restructures the nation's healthcare system. All in all, do you think it is a good thing or a bad thing that Congress passed this law?

	Good thing	Bad thing	No opinion
	%	%	%
2012 Feb 20-21	45	44	11
2011 Oct 26-27 ^	42	47	11
2011 Mar 18-19 ^	46	44	10
2010 Mar 22 #	49	40	11
^ WORDING: "...a year ago...' # WORDING: "...yesterday..."
Gallup

As you may know, the Supreme Court will hear arguments next month concerning a requirement in the healthcare law that every American must buy health insurance or pay a fine. Regardless of whether you favor or oppose the law, do you think this requirement is constitutional or unconstitutional?

	Constitutional	Unconstitutional	No opinion
	%	%	%
2012 Feb 20-21	20	72	7
Gallup

Would you advise your member of Congress to vote for or against a healthcare bill this year, or do you not have an opinion? (Asked of those with no opinion on healthcare bill) As of today, would you say you lean more toward advising your member of Congress to vote for a healthcare bill, or lean more toward advising your member of Congress to vote against a healthcare bill?

	Vote for/Lean vote for	Vote against/Lean vote against	No opinion
	%	%	%
2010 Jan 8-10	49	46	6
2009 Dec 11-13	46	48	6
2009 Nov 20-22	44	49	7
2009 Nov 5-8	43	48	9
2009 Oct 1-4	51	41	8
2009 Sep 11-13	50	47	3
Gallup

If Congress is going to reform the healthcare system, should Congress deal with healthcare reform on a gradual basis over several years, or should Congress try to pass a comprehensive healthcare reform plan this year?

	Gradual basis	Pass comprehensive reform	No opinion
	%	%	%
2009 Oct 16-19	58	38	4
1994 Aug 8-9	68	28	5
1994 Jul 15-17	63	32	5
1994 Jun 25-28	62	33	5
1994 Jun 11-12	55	39	7
1994 Apr 16-18	59	37	4
Gallup

What do you, personally, see as the biggest problem with healthcare in the United States today? [OPEN-ENDED]

	2009 Sep 11-13
	%
Cost/Unaffordable	38
Too many uninsured	15
Insurance companies/Insurance company greed	13
Lack of availability/accessibility	8
Too many frivolous lawsuits/Medical malpractice	5
Too much bureaucracy/Government involvement	5
Overcharging/Excessive charges for medical procedures	3
Drug companies/Drug company greed	3
Problems with Medicaid/Medicare	3
Doctor/Hospital greed	3
Lack of portability of insurance	3
Illegal immigrants getting healthcare	2
Waste and fraud in the system	2
Cannot get insurance if have pre-existing condition	1
Other	2
Nothing (vol.)	3
No opinion	5
Percentages total more than 100% due to multiple responses
Gallup

If you had to choose, which goal would you say is more important in terms of healthcare -- [ROTATED: expanding healthcare coverage to include nearly all Americans (or) controlling rising healthcare costs in the U.S. today]?

	Expanding coverage	Controlling costs	Neither (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2009 Sep 11-13	39	59	1	1
(vol.) = Volunteered response
Gallup

As you may know, President Obama is proposing a healthcare plan that is designed to expand coverage to nearly all Americans without raising taxes on the middle class or lowering the quality of healthcare. If Obama's plan is passed, do you think it would or would not be able to accomplish all of these goals?

	Yes, will be able to	No, will not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2009 Sep 11-13	38	60	2
Gallup

How confident are you that most of the cost of President Obama's healthcare plan can be paid for through cost savings in Medicare and other parts of the existing healthcare system -- very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident or not confident at all?

	Very	Somewhat	Not too	Not at all	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
2009 Sep 11-13	11	32	19	37	1
Gallup

For each of the following health conditions, please say whether you think it is a very serious problem around the world, a somewhat serious problem or not a serious problem? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

	Very serious	Somewhat serious	Not serious	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
HIV or AIDS
2007 Jun 11-14 ^	82	16	2	*
2006 Dec 8-10 ^	89	10	1	*
Cancer
2007 Jun 11-14 ^	79	20	1	1
2006 Dec 8-10 ^	87	11	1	--
Tuberculosis
2007 Jun 11-14 ^	24	51	23	2
2006 Dec 8-10 ^	31	48	17	3
Malaria
2007 Jun 11-14 ^	24	50	22	3
2006 Dec 8-10 ^	28	47	20	4
Poor nutrition
2007 Jun 11-14 ^	75	22	3	1
2006 Dec 8-10 ^	80	18	1	1
^ Asked of a half sample; * Less than 0.5%
Gallup

Healthcare System

Related Topics Include:

Foreign Trade: Opportunity or Threat to the U.S. Economy?

Recommended

Worry About U.S. Economy, Healthcare, Social Security Surges

In U.S., Inability to Pay for Care, Medicine Hits New High

Pandemic's Effects Linger in Americans' Health Ratings

Americans Borrow Estimated $74 Billion for Medical Bills in 2024