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Republicans and Democrats Agree: The Cost of Health Care Is a ‘Very Big Problem’
By Adam Hardy MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Americans across parties agree — health care costs are too high and a top concern.
Regardless of your political leanings, you probably agree with this statement: Health care costs are too high in the U.S.
Two-thirds of Americans now say the affordability of health care is a “very big problem in the country today,” according to a new survey from Pew Research in February, making it one of the top concerns in the minds of everyday citizens.
In fact, Americans are more concerned about the cost of health care than a wide range of political and economic issues, including inflation, drug addiction, gun violence, illegal immigration, racism and both domestic and international terrorism.
Overall, health care affordability is the second-highest concern, behind only the role of money in politics, which 72% of Americans also said is a “very big problem.” Inflation, at No. 3, is still on the minds of many, with 63% of respondents stating it’s a “very big” issue.
Concern over health care costs is no longer partisan
Pew has asked Americans about these issues several times before. Over the last few years, inflation has been the undisputed top concern. Before that, health care costs topped the list.
What’s notable this year, however, is the share of Americans across the political spectrum who are now concerned about health care costs. The last time health care affordability was the top-rated concern was 2021. Then, it was viewed as a more partisan issue: Only 40% of Republican-leaning respondents called it a “very big” problem, versus 69% of Democratic-leaning respondents.
The share of Republicans who are concerned with health care costs has ballooned since then, and Pew’s February survey shows the partisan gap is notably shrinking — with 61% of Republican-leaning Americans saying health care costs are a very big issue. On the other hand, 73% of Democratic-leaning respondents said the same.
President Donald Trump appears to have gotten the memo. On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order intended to provide more transparency with health care costs. The order requires health insurers and hospitals to disclose the actual cost of care — not just estimates — online and in an easy-to-read format, building on rules from Trump’s first term.
A 2023 study from the University of Minnesota found that, if fully implemented, such transparency measures could lower health care spending between $17 billion and $80 billion over a period of roughly two years.
Just how expensive is health care in the U.S.?
In the words of famed investor Warren Buffett: “Medical costs are the tapeworm of American economic competitiveness.”
And if health care affordability were a competition, the U.S. would be losing to its peers on several fronts. According to the latest health care spending estimates from the federal government, the U.S. collectively spent $4.9 trillion on health care in 2023, amounting to roughly $14,600 per person.
That figure is far higher than in any other country in the world. According to a Money analysis of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data, the U.S. spends 250% more per person on health care than the average of its peer countries. All that spending does not translate into healthier populations.
A separate analysis from the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found that among the top 12 wealthiest OECD nations, the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy at 78.4, far below the average of 82.5.
By comparison, in Japan — which spends just 40% of what the U.S. does on health care per person — residents live to over 84 on average.
These discrepancies between the U.S. and other wealthy, developed countries have grown since the pandemic. And, as Pew’s data shows, so has Americans’ discontent.
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Adam Hardy is Money's lead data journalist. He writes news and feature stories aimed at helping everyday people manage their finances. He joined Money full-time in 2021 but has covered personal finance and economic topics since 2018. Previously, he worked for Forbes Advisor, The Penny Hoarder and Creative Loafing. In addition to those outlets, Adam’s work has been featured in a variety of local, national and international publications, including the Asia Times, Business Insider, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Yahoo! Finance, Nasdaq and several others. Adam graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida, where he studied magazine journalism and sociology. As a first-generation college graduate from a low-income, single-parent household, Adam understands firsthand the financial barriers that plague low-income Americans. His reporting aims to illuminate these issues. Since joining Money, Adam has already written over 300 articles, including a cover story on financial surveillance, a profile of Director Rohit Chopra of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and an investigation into flexible spending accounts, which found that workers forfeit billions of dollars annually through the workplace plans. He has also led data analysis on some of Money’s marquee rankings, including Best Places to Live, Best Places to Travel and Best Hospitals. He regularly contributes data reporting for Best Colleges, Best Banks and other lists as well. Adam also holds a multimedia storytelling certificate from Poynter’s News University and a data journalism certificate from the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) at the University of Missouri. In 2017, he received an English teaching certification from the University of Cambridge, which he utilized during his time in Seoul, South Korea. There, he taught students of all ages, from 5 to 65, and worked with North Korean refugees who were resettling in the area. Now, Adam lives in Saint Petersburg, Florida, with his pup Bambi. He is a card-carrying shuffleboard club member.