An elderly couple looks concerned while reviewing healthcare bills at their kitchen table.
Americans are increasingly worried about healthcare costs, with rising health insurance premiums and the expiration of Obamacare subsidies pushing the issue to the forefront of domestic concerns in 2026.
A recent Gallup poll reveals that 61% of Americans worry a great deal about healthcare access and affordability, making it the top domestic issue among 16 policy areas surveyed. This resurgence marks a significant shift, as healthcare last held this position in 2020, a status it maintained since 2015. While it was nearly tied with the economy in 2025, healthcare now leads by a 10-point margin.
Echoing these findings, a Fox News poll indicates that 81% of voters are either “extremely” or “very” concerned about healthcare, second only to inflation and high prices, which concern 86% of voters.
The concern over healthcare spans across political affiliations, with 89% of Democrats, 80% of Independents, and 72% of Republicans expressing significant worry. Age groups also share this concern, with 77% of those under 45 and 83% of those over 45 feeling extremely or very concerned.
American consumers have faced rising health insurance premiums in recent years, exacerbated by the end of an extra subsidy. Under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), health insurance is subsidized through a premium tax credit for lower- and middle-income households. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress added an additional subsidy, which was allowed to expire at the end of last year.
An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) estimates that the expiration of these enhanced premium tax credits will cause annual out-of-pocket premium payments to rise by over $1,000 this year, a 114% increase from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026. Health insurance companies have also been raising premiums for non-Obamacare plans, attributing the increases to higher healthcare costs.
Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) indicates a shift towards lower-cost health insurance plans in the 2026 open enrollment period. In 2025, 56% of enrollees were in silver tier plans, while 30% were in bronze plans. However, 2026 data shows 40% of enrollees in bronze plans and 43% in silver plans. The share of enrollees in gold tier plans also rose from 13% in 2025 to 17% this year, indicating an increasing number of people are opting for higher coverage plans to mitigate the impact of rising costs.
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