Gallup found positive ratings of US healthcare quality fell from 54% in 2020 to 44% in 2024. By 2025, only 24% of Americans rated healthcare coverage as excellent or good. Only 16% said they felt satisfied with the overall cost of healthcare.
The public verdict has grown blunt. 17% now say the healthcare system has major problems or stands in crisis.
KFF found 6 in 10 insured adults had at least one problem with their health insurance during the previous year. 18% reported a denied claim. Others ran into prior authorization delays, prescription coverage disputes or high out-of-pocket costs.
Families keep paying more through premiums, deductibles and copays. At the same time, many now question whether their coverage will work when they need it. That trust gap matters, Rep. Ben Fuhriman said. A family should not spend as much, or more, on health insurance and medical bills as it spends on a mortgage.
Private insurance has a problem of its own. If coverage keeps getting more expensive, more frustrating and harder to use, proposals such as Medicare for All will gain broader support.
People aren’t necessarily turning toward government-run healthcare because they want bigger government. Many are tired of the system they have. Tired of the bills. Tired of phone calls. Tired of being told a covered service still needs another approval.
That is why the Idaho Legislature’s attention to insurance issues matters, Ben Fuhriman stated. Lawmakers formed a committee to study these concerns, and they are hearing from insurers, providers, regulators and patients.
When a provider performs a covered service and submits a clean, legitimate claim, the insurer should face clear expectations for timely payment. Slow payment shifts administrative and financing costs onto providers.
Those costs do not disappear. They work their way back into what everyone pays for healthcare.
Insurers should investigate fraud, errors and questionable claims. No serious person disputes that, but legitimate insurance claims should not sit unpaid for unreasonable periods, as happens too often.
The goal is to make the system function with basic fairness. Providers need payment for covered care. Patients need confidence that coverage means something. Families need relief from healthcare costs that keep taking a larger share of their income.
