Majority Of Americans Say The Healthcare System Isn't In A Crisis

Two-thirds of Americans say they are satisfied with the current healthcare system, signaling to Gallup researchers that a majority don’t believe there's a healthcare crisis.

When the polling company put the question to 1,542 citizens between March 10 and 15, it found that health insurance status is a key factor behind satisfaction. The poll found that 72 percent of those who have coverage said they were satisfied compared to 26 percent who were not. But it’s not only those who are insured who seem to think the current system is working for them. Among those who don’t have health insurance, 33 percent said they are satisfied with the system while 59 percent reported being dissatisfied.

“Healthcare insurance status is the most important dividing factor in Americans’ perceptions of how the healthcare system is working for them,” according to Gallup, which added, “although by no means is having insurance a perfect determinant of their satisfaction.”

Here’s another bit of information that supporters of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, will find favorable: A majority of younger and older people really like how the current system is working for them.

Among Young Adults

By Party

Researchers believe that the high satisfaction from younger Americans may be attributable in part to the fact that they tend to be healthier “and therefore may be more inclined to indicate that the system is working fine as far as they are concerned.”

It also doesn’t hurt that under Obamacare, people can stay on their parents' plan until they are 26. "Young people may have lower premiums if they don’t have families, and they might not have to pay for coverage if they are carried on their parents’ policies,” the Gallup researchers wrote.

Congressional Republicans oppose Obamacare and are hoping to use Obama’s unilateral delays of some of the law’s mandates as a political strategy in this year’s midterm elections. The national Republican leadership has already attributed some recent election victories to attacking the health-care law and is showing no signs of easing soon.

Obamacare's enrollment numbers recently hit 4 million, and with the open enrollment period ending March 31, that figure will likely increase.

The Gallup survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.