Despite concern about other expenses—such as fuel following the launch of the war in Iran—healthcare costs remain at the top of the list for economic fears, a new survey shows.
KFF released its latest tracking poll on Wednesday, which found that about 64% of adults are worried about being able to afford their healthcare. About three in 10 of those surveyed said they were "very worried" about the affordability of care.
The survey is based on responses from a national sample of 1,343 American adults and was conducted between April 14 and April 19.
By comparison, 64% said they were worried about the cost of gasoline or other travel expenses, a figure that has risen since the war began in late February. And just 13% of those surveyed said they were not worried at all about affording their healthcare costs.
"Healthcare costs remain a primary economic concern for the public and voters’ top health concern heading into the 2026 midterm elections," the researchers wrote.
Challenges around affordability included both people with insurance as well as the uninsured, the survey found. About half (46%) of insured adults said that lower out-of-pocket costs is the most important change they'd like to see made to their insurance, with 22% saying that eliminating prior authorization is the most important.
Far fewer (13%) said that they believe getting more value for the care they receive is the most important consideration, and 12% said that having more choice in doctors, specialists and providers is the most important change they'd like to see with their coverage.
The poll also found that healthcare remains a key issue heading into the midterm elections this fall. Across all parties, about 55% said healthcare will have a "major impact" on how they choose to vote in the election later this year.
This was true for 64% of Democrats, 52% of independents and 48% of Republicans, according to the poll.
About 61% of those surveyed said healthcare will have a major impact on who they choose to vote for.
Democrats have the edge over Republicans with independent voters on who they trust more to handle the cost of healthcare, but 50% of independents surveyed said they don't trust either party to tackle this issue. Twenty-nine percent of independents said they trust Democrats, while 16% said they trust Republicans.