Survey Finds That Healthcare Access and Affordability Are Top Concerns

Last week, the Rollins-Gallup Public Health Priorities Survey results were published by Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and Gallup. Access to healthcare and its affordability came out as a top concern for Americans.

One in four respondents selected healthcare access and affordability as their highest priority, and more than half (52 percent) rated it as their first, second, or third priority.

Ensuring food and water safety ranked second in the survey while reducing chronic disease also emerged as a top priority.

“Americans across socioeconomic and demographic groups, including gender, age, education, and income, believe government leaders should prioritize healthcare access,” the survey stated. However, “Americans with higher incomes were more likely than those with lower incomes to rank healthcare access as their highest priority.”

Of the respondents identifying healthcare access and affordability as a top priority, 75 percent said that the federal government would be better than state government at addressing the issues.

“Americans’ concerns about a lack of progress across key areas of public…affirm that now is not the time to slow down, but rather accelerate and redouble public health efforts,” the report concludes.