New polling reveals the struggle for health care among low-income Americans

With a favorable administration, public opinion might set the agenda for better coverage

Gallup had a new poll out yesterday with the headline “In U.S., An Estimated 46 Million Cannot Afford Needed Care.” It is a reminder of the role public opinion polls can play in describing the quality of life for the average person, and (hopefully)in reorienting government to solve any problems

In this case, many Americans are doing quite poorly. Gallup’s numbers show that 18% of Americans said they would not be able to afford quality healthcare today if they needed to. There is a deep divide by both race and age. While 16% of whites say they wouldn’t be able to access care, 29% of African Americans and 21% of Hispanics say they wouldn’t be able to afford it. Young people were twice to three times as likely as seniors to say they couldn’t afford coverage.

The past year has been particularly hard for Americans who needed care. Gallup asked people:

Has there been a time in the last 12 months when you or a member of your household had a health problem, but you did not seek treatment due to the cost of care?

Eighteen percent of adults said that they had skipped care because they couldn’t afford it. As expected, the share of people missing care is higher for lower income Americans. Gallup found that over a third of American households making less than $24,000 per year — just under half of the median household income — had skipped getting treated for a health problem because they couldn’t afford it. And while that share was higher for households making above $90,000 — enough to get by comfortably in most areas outside of big cities — roughly one-in-ten of these above-average-income households still skipped out on getting care for a health condition.

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These numbers reveal the dearth of health coverage in America — and they do so in a way that would be hard to understand without survey data. No matter your opinions on policy, the fact that nearly one out of every five adults isn’t seeking treatment because they can’t afford it is a damning indictment of our health and economic systems. What country tolerates that level of harm to its citizens? Can’t we think better about how to help people?

Public opinion polling has some things to say here, too. A supermajority of Americans favor reforms, including expanding the Affordable Care Act, making Medicare available to everyone, and setting caps for out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and general services. The latter proposals enjoy the support of over 85% of Americans, including over 74% of Republicans, 80% of Independents and 96% of Americans.

As the United States enters the second year of the covid-19 pandemic, and the Democratic-led federal government looks at issues to solve with its control over Congress and the Presidency, they might find a few clues at how to best help people by taking a look at these polls. That is, after all, what they were made for.