Health care tops list of voters’ economic worries

A new poll from the nonprofit health care research group KFF finds that voters are laser-focused on economic concerns right now — and it’s not making them very happy.

About two-thirds of voters rate the national economy as either “not so good” or “poor” because of ongoing inflation and the current high cost of everyday expenses, housing and health care. 

Even though unemployment is low and the stock market’s mostly been rising lately, “we find economic concerns really at the top of voters’ lists, and health care costs playing a big role there,” said KFF’s Ashley Kirzinger.

Here’s what people are most worried about being able to afford: “Unexpected medical bills, also just the general cost of health care services,” she said. “Families that have difficulty affording their bills each month, two-thirds of them say they’re worried that a medical or dental bill would put them in debt.”

Even though inflation’s moderating, some health-related costs are still rising a lot: hospital, nursing home and dental care are up 5% to to 8% year over year. Nonprescription drugs are up more than 9%. 

Then, there’s health insurance, pointed out Andrea Ducas at the Center for American Progress.

“Premiums have continued to grow, and we’ve seen deductibles increase really dramatically since the advent of high-deductible health plans,” she said.

The average worker’s annual premium for employer-sponsored family health coverage rose more than 7.5% last year, according to KFF — to $6,575.