Seven in 10 say health care system is in ‘crisis’ or has ‘major problems’: Poll

Seven in 10 Americans say the U.S. health care system is “in a state of crisis” or has “major problems,” according to a Gallup poll that also finds partisanship has colored people’s views of the system over the past decade.

The pollsters say more than half — 55 percent — rate the quality of care positively, though only about a third rate the extent of health coverage optimistically and only a fifth are happy about costs.

The top-line view that health care in America has major problems is consistent with the 65 percent-73 percent range Gallup has measured since it began asking about it more than two decades ago — except for a poll taken shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, when fears around terrorism pushed down the view that health care was in crisis to 49 percent.

Gallup said party affiliation has a big impact on views. Democrats were far more likely than Republicans to view the system negatively until the passage of Obamacare, leading to a criss-cross in views around the time of President Obama’s reelection in 2012.

“Now, with Republican President Donald Trump in office, partisan views have flipped again, with Democrats more likely to be concerned,” Gallup said.

The pollsters say 56 percent of Republicans view the system as in crisis while a whopping 86 percent of Democrats see it that way.

Gallup noted their poll was taken right after the mid-term elections, when Democrats highlighted problems in the system, especially around coverage. Some liberal voices are pushing for a government-run, single-payer system that covers everyone.

Republicans have resisted government-centered reforms, though their protests against the system have been in a sort of limbo since 2017, when the Capitol Hill GOP was unable to replace the Affordable Care Act with a better system.