NEWS ALERT

Poll: Cost of Health Care and Gas Top Voters' Midterm Concerns; Democrats Hold Significant Advantage on Health Care Costs and Cost of Living 

Two-Thirds Favor Medicare-for-All, a New High in KFF Polling, but Support Shifts When Competing Claims from Critics and Proponents Are Heard

Just a month away from the midterm elections, affordability worries continue to top the public’s list of midterm election issues, with health care costs and gas costs tying as the top economic concern, KFF’s new Health Tracking Poll finds. Voters overall trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle the cost of health care and the cost of living.

A quarter of voters say they are “very worried” about being able to afford the cost of health care and gas and transportation (25% and 25%,) and an additional third say they are “somewhat worried” about health care and gas costs (35% and 34%). These worries outrank voters’ concerns about the affordability of food, utilities, and housing. The vast majority of voters say the cost of living and health care costs (90% and 82%) are “very” or “extremely” important for candidates to discuss during the last pivotal weeks of the campaigns.

“Of all the cost-of-living worries hitting voters now, a big health care bill is the least predictable, and that’s a big reason why health care costs are right up there with gas prices and the costs of food and housing on voters’ minds,” KFF President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman said.

Democrats hold nearly a two-to-one advantage over Republicans on whom voters trust more on the issue of health care costs (42% vs. 22%) and a significant edge on the cost of living (39% vs. 25%.) Voters also say they trust Democrats more than Republicans to do a better job handling abortion policy (42% vs. 27%) and are more divided about whether they trust Democrats or Republicans more on immigration (34% vs. 38%) and fraud in government programs (29% vs. 31%).

The Democratic edge on health care costs has grown over the past six months. Democrats held an eleven-percentage point advantage over Republicans in April (37% vs. 26%) and a 20-percentage point advantage over Republicans in September (42% vs. 22%.)

Among independent voters, Democrats hold at least a two-to-one trust advantage over Republicans on health care costs (38% vs. 9%), the cost of living (35% vs. 11%) and abortion policy (42% vs. 14%)—though large shares of independents say they trust neither party on most midterm election issues.

Democrats also hold a major advantage on voter enthusiasm and are more likely than Republicans to say they are more motivated to vote this year than in previous elections (63% vs. 38%.) Most Republican voters (53%) say they are “about as motivated” as in previous elections, while independent voters are split, with similar shares saying they are “more motivated” and “about as motivated” (41% and 44%.)

Amid rising health care costs and affordability worries, there is bipartisan agreement among the public that major changes are needed to the U.S. health care system, with about 9 in 10 Democrats (89%) and three-quarters of Republicans (77%) saying the U.S. health care system needs either a complete overhaul or major changes.

In some midterm races, progressive Democratic candidates have responded to the public’s interest in health care reform by campaigning for the creation of a national health plan—attracting criticism from Republican opponents.

Support for the idea of a national health plan (commonly called “Medicare-for-All”) has grown, rising to about two-thirds (66%) of the public—the highest share since KFF began polling on the topic in 2016, when Senator Bernie Sanders campaigned on the issue. Partisans remain divided, with large shares of Democrats (84%) and independents (72%) in favor and two-thirds (66%) of Republicans opposed. KFF has tracked public opinion on national health plan proposals, including Medicare-for-All, since the late 1990s.

As KFF polling has shown consistently over time, public opinion on Medicare-for-All—and on major health policy proposals generally—is highly malleable and likely to shift over the course of any public debate with competing claims from proponents and critics. The latest poll finds the share who favor a Medicare-for-All-style plan falls sharply when the public is told that it could lead to potential delays in medical tests and treatments (24% still favor), tax increases (35%), or threaten the current Medicare program (38%). On the other hand, favorable views rise to about 3 in 4 when people are told that Medicare-for-All would make health insurance “a right” (76%) or that it would eliminate premiums and cost-sharing (75%).

Designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF, this survey was conducted September 16-21, 2026, online and by telephone among a nationally representative sample of 1,328 U.S. adults, including 1,0133 voters, in English and in Spanish. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points for the full sample and plus or minus four percentage points for the sample of voters. For results based on other subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher.

Media Contact: Tammie Smith | 202.654.1410 | Tammies@kff.org  

When citing our work, please note our legal name is KFF. We should be cited as KFF, a nonprofit health policy research, polling, and news organization. Our name is no longer the Kaiser Family Foundation.