Most are satisfied with their health insurance, but a quarter report denials or delays
An overwhelming majority of U.S. adults are satisfied with their health insurance coverage overall, including most older Americans and those on Medicare and Medicaid, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk poll by SurveyMonkey.
But there’s also an underlying sense of frustration in the findings, as nearly a quarter of those surveyed say they’ve been denied coverage or faced a delay on their insurance in the past two years.
Overall, 82% of Americans say they are satisfied with their health care coverage, including a third who say they are very satisfied with their current coverage. The group that reported being most satisfied was older adults, with 9 in 10 Americans over 65 saying they were satisfied. And 42% of this age group say they are “very satisfied”.
About 9 in 10 people with public health insurance coverage through Medicare or Medicaid also reported being satisfied with the coverage, compared to 77% of those with private health care coverage.
The results, which are consistent with those of other surveys, highlight the nuances of the debate taking place in Washington and across the country around health care and its affordability. They also set a milestone ahead of a year that will see significant changes and reductions in Medicaid and likely rising costs for millions of Americans. Premiums paid to people receiving health care under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, are expected to rise unless Congress reaches a deal to extend the subsidies.
Younger Americans were more likely to say they were dissatisfied with their health insurance than older Americans. A little less than a quarter of those under 45 say they are dissatisfied with health coverage. The same proportion of college graduates and self-identified political independents also reported dissatisfaction.
The challenges of obtaining care, however, add another layer to the national debate. NBC News has reported extensively on the issue of insurance claim denials and delays, and the issue is at the center of the New York case against Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering the CEO of a health insurance company. And about a quarter of Americans (24%) said their health insurance company delayed or denied their health care service, treatment or medications in the past two years, according to the survey.
Women were six points more likely than men to report that their coverage had been delayed or denied (27% to 21%).
Americans with private health care coverage were slightly more likely (26%) than those with public health care coverage (23%) to report that their coverage was delayed or denied in the past two years.
When it comes to Obamacare, 46% said they would prefer to keep it and 24% said they would prefer to repeal it. 31% weren’t sure what to do.
Notably, those with private health care coverage, such as a plan through their or their spouse’s employer, were just as likely (47%) as those with public health care coverage (46%) to say they want to keep the ACA.
Majorities of Democrats (79%), majorities of Black Americans (61%), women under 30 (59%) and all adults under 30 (52%) also want to keep it.
A majority of Republicans (56%) and people who identify as members of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement (69%) said they want to repeal the ACA. Four in ten men aged 65 and over also said they wanted to repeal it.
With health insurance prices a growing issue for Americans as the 2026 midterm elections approach, 57% of respondents said they trust the Democratic Party to handle the issue, compared to 43% who said they trust the Republican Party.
Overall, women trust the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party to manage health care costs (64%-36%), while men are evenly split, 50%-50%.
The NBC News Decision Desk poll conducted by SurveyMonkey surveyed 20,252 adults online from November 20 to December 8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points. Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
