Pew Finds Health Costs Leading Americans' Worries

Washington. Health care affordability now sits at the top of Americans' national problem list, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Monday, with inflation, the federal deficit and money in politics clustered close behind.

Pew said 73% of U.S. adults call the affordability of health care a very big problem for the country, up 6 percentage points from February 2025. The same survey found 66% saying inflation is a very big problem, 64% saying the federal budget deficit is a very big problem and 74% saying the role of money in politics is a very big problem.

Pew surveyed 5,103 adults from April 20 to 26 through its American Trends Panel, according to the center's methodology page. The report measures public perceptions, not whether any one problem is objectively larger than another, but the ordering shows where voters say the pressure feels most severe.

What Pew Found

Pew's headline finding is the breadth of concern around costs. The report says health care affordability, inflation and the federal budget deficit all rose as very big problems since February 2025, while unemployment also moved up from a lower base.

According to Pew, 36% of adults now call unemployment a very big problem, up 11 points from February 2025. That still leaves unemployment well below health care affordability, inflation and the deficit in the survey's ranking.

The U.S. Capitol is a fitting context image for Pew's deficit and money in politics findings. Photo by Noclip, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

The report also shows a change in immigration concern. Pew said 38% of adults now call illegal immigration a very big problem, down from 48% in February 2025. Among Republicans and Republican leaning independents, the share fell from 73% to 60%. Among Democrats and Democratic leaners, it fell from 23% to 17%.

The deficit result carries a notable partisan shift. Pew said 66% of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents now call the federal budget deficit a very big problem, compared with 62% of Republicans and Republican leaners. Pew's report said Republicans were far more likely than Democrats to say the same in May 2024.

Money in politics remains the closest thing to a cross party complaint in the report. Pew said 79% of Democrats and Democratic leaners and 70% of Republicans and Republican leaners call the role of money in politics a very big problem.

How The Survey Was Conducted

Pew's methodology page said the survey was conducted from April 20 to 26 among 5,103 panelists in the American Trends Panel. Pew said 5,898 panelists were sampled and 5,103 responded, for an 87% survey level response rate.

The questionnaire asked respondents whether each issue was a very big problem, a moderately big problem, a small problem or not a problem at all for the country, according to Pew's questionnaire PDF. That wording matters because the survey captures perceived national severity, not personal exposure or support for a specific policy remedy.

Pew's topline PDF provides the detailed tables behind the report, including party identification splits. Those tables are useful because the same issue can rank high overall while party coalitions disagree sharply about its cause, urgency or preferred fix.

The Conservative View

The conservative reading starts with the deficit and inflation findings. Pew's numbers show that nearly two thirds of Americans call the federal budget deficit a very big problem, and BLS public data show the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers registered 332.407 in April 2026.

For fiscal conservatives, those two data points point to spending restraint, entitlement reform or tighter control of federal borrowing. Treasury's Debt to the Penny data showed total public debt outstanding at about $38.94 trillion on May 8, 2026, with roughly $31.26 trillion held by the public.

Immigration remains much more salient on the right than on the left, even after the decline Pew measured. Pew said 60% of Republicans and Republican leaners still call illegal immigration a very big problem, compared with 17% of Democrats and Democratic leaners.

The Progressive View

The progressive reading starts with affordability and political power. Pew found health care affordability at 73% overall and money in politics at 74%, both higher than inflation and the deficit in the national ranking.

CMS data explain why health costs can dominate even when voters are also worried about prices and debt. The National Health Expenditure Fact Sheet says U.S. health spending grew 7.2% to $5.3 trillion in 2024, or $15,474 per person, and accounted for 18.0% of gross domestic product.

CMS also said out of pocket spending grew 5.9% to $556.6 billion in 2024. For progressives who support expanded coverage, price regulation or stronger public programs, Pew's survey gives political context for why health affordability remains a national complaint even after the pandemic emergency period ended.

Other Perspectives

Gas prices remain one of the most visible ways households experience inflation. Photo by Michael Hicks, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Libertarian and independent voters can read the same survey as a warning about concentrated power rather than as a simple spending mandate. Pew's finding that money in politics is a very big problem for 74% of adults cuts across party lines and can support arguments for campaign finance limits, disclosure rules or less federal control over sectors that attract lobbying.

Independents also matter because Pew's toplines measure the overall adult population, not only party activists. When health affordability, inflation and the deficit all rank near the top, candidates and policymakers face a public that wants relief from prices without ignoring the federal balance sheet.

The survey also shows that issue intensity can move quickly. Illegal immigration fell 10 points overall as a very big problem from February 2025 to April 2026, according to Pew, while unemployment rose 11 points over roughly the same comparison period.

Economic Implications

Pew's findings point to a pocketbook problem with three channels: medical costs, consumer prices and federal borrowing. CMS said national health expenditures reached $5.3 trillion in 2024, while Treasury data showed public debt outstanding near $38.94 trillion in May 2026. Those figures help explain why voters can see health care costs and the deficit as linked pressures rather than separate abstractions.

The health spending outlook adds to that tension. CMS projects average national health expenditure growth of 5.8% from 2024 to 2033, above projected average GDP growth of 4.3%, which CMS said would lift health spending's share of GDP from 17.6% in 2023 to 20.3% in 2033. If that path holds, households, employers and government programs would all face continuing pressure over premiums, wages, taxes and benefits.

Inflation keeps the issue from staying inside health policy. Pew said 66% of adults call inflation a very big problem, and BLS data showed the April 2026 CPI index at 332.407. The survey does not identify a policy solution, but it shows that voters are judging affordability through multiple bills at once, including health care, groceries, fuel, rent and the future tax burden of federal debt.

By The Numbers

A historical chart on U.S. health insurance coverage gives background to the affordability debate, though it is not a Pew chart. Chart via USGov, Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

73%: Share of adults who say health care affordability is a very big problem, according to Pew.
74%: Share of adults who say the role of money in politics is a very big problem, according to Pew.
66%: Share of adults who say inflation is a very big problem, according to Pew.
64%: Share of adults who say the federal budget deficit is a very big problem, according to Pew.
$5.3 trillion: U.S. national health expenditures in 2024, according to CMS.
$38.94 trillion: Total public debt outstanding on May 8, 2026, according to Treasury Fiscal Data.

What People Are Saying

"73% of adults now say the affordability of health care is a very big problem for the country, up 6 percentage points from February of last year." - Pew Research Center, May 11 national problems report.

"64% view the federal budget deficit as a very big problem, up 7 points from last February. Inflation also continues to loom large for the public: 66% say inflation is a very big problem." - Pew Research Center, report PDF.

"The survey was conducted April 20 to 26, 2026. A total of 5,103 panelists responded out of 5,898 who were sampled, for a survey level response rate of 87%." - Pew Research Center, methodology page.

"Over 2024 to 2033 average NHE growth (5.8 percent) is projected to outpace that of average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth (4.3 percent), resulting in an increase in the health spending share of GDP from 17.6 percent in 2023 to 20.3 percent in 2033." - Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, National Health Expenditure Fact Sheet.

The Big Picture

Pew's survey lands in a political environment where the public is not choosing between health costs, inflation, debt and institutional distrust. According to the report, large majorities call each one a very big problem, and the health care number now leads the list.

The next signals to watch are whether the same ranking holds in later Pew surveys, whether inflation concern changes with monthly BLS data, whether Treasury debt continues to set new highs and how 2026 candidates connect health affordability to taxes, spending and household budgets.

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