(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Weddnesday, Jan. 15, 2025 — Nearly half of Americans (46%) think the country is headed in the wrong direction when it comes to the incoming president’s policies to lower healthcare costs, while 31% say it’s on the right track, according to the latest West Health-Gallup survey released today.
When viewed through a political lens, only Republicans are more positive than negative about the future of healthcare costs under the Trump administration; nearly three-quarters (73%) think the incoming administration’s healthcare policies are headed in the right direction. In contrast, 24% of independents and 3% of Democrats say the same. Democrats overwhelmingly think the yet-to-be-detailed policies are going in the wrong direction (84%), and nearly half of political independents (48%) agree.
Findings on prescription drug prices fall along similar party lines, but Americans are generally more negative than positive on Trump's policies to bring prices down (41% vs. 34%).
“The survey reflects a deep divide across party affiliation about the future of healthcare policy,” said Timothy Lash, president, West Health Policy Center — a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on healthcare and aging. “Political independents, however, remain highly pessimistic, which may better reflect the realities and consequences of a high-priced healthcare system more than the politics or personalities behind it.”
Political independents comprise approximately four in 10 U.S. adults, ahead of Republicans (30%) and Democrats (26%).
Low Confidence in Policy Action
Only one-third of Americans are optimistic that the incoming Trump administration’s policies will bring down the cost of healthcare (32%) or prescription drugs (34%). When asked about specific healthcare priorities — including lowering drug costs, protecting Medicare and Social Security, capping insulin prices, and addressing mental health within the U.S. healthcare system — overall, majorities of Americans express doubt that these issues would be prioritized in Trump’s second term.
57% do not believe the administration will prioritize lowering prescription drug costs.
58% do not think capping insulin for everyone at $35 will be a priority.
56% do not think protecting Medicare and Social Security will be a priority.
60% say they do not think the new administration will expand Medicare negotiation.
63% say expanding access to mental healthcare is unlikely to be prioritized.
Americans United in Concern Over Healthcare Costs
Americans across the political spectrum share concerns about healthcare affordability. Prior West Health-Gallup polling shows that a third or more of Republicans, Democrats and independents are concerned they will be unable to pay for needed healthcare. Other recent West Health-Gallup research also found that only about half or less of Democrats and Republicans rate U.S. healthcare quality as excellent or good, an all-time low.
“As Americans navigate an evolving political landscape, the data continue to show a clear and unified desire for meaningful policies that address the rising cost of care and the difficulty many have obtaining access,” said Gallup senior researcher Sarah Fioroni.
Methodology
The West Health-Gallup Survey was conducted via web Nov. 11-18, 2024, with a nationally representative sample of 3,583 U.S. adults aged 18 and older. The margin of sampling error is ±2.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
About West Health
Solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health is a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations including the Gary and Mary West Foundation and Gary and Mary West Health Institute in San Diego, and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C. West Health is dedicated to lowering healthcare costs to enable seniors to successfully age in place with access to high-quality, affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence. Learn more at westhealth.org and follow @westhealth.
About Gallup
Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 80 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students and citizens than any other organization in the world.
###
END
New West Health-Gallup survey finds incoming Trump administration faces high public skepticism over plans to lower healthcare costs
Nearly half of Americans (46%) think the country is headed in the wrong direction when it comes to the incoming president’s policies to lower healthcare costs, while 31% say it’s on the right track, according to the latest West Health-Gallup survey.
2025-01-15
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Reading signs: New method improves AI translation of sign language
2025-01-15
Sign languages have been developed by nations around the world to fit the local communication style, and each language consists of thousands of signs. This has made sign languages difficult to learn and understand. Using artificial intelligence to automatically translate the signs into words, known as word-level sign language recognition, has now gained a boost in accuracy through the work of an Osaka Metropolitan University-led research group.
Previous research methods have been focused on capturing information about the signer’s ...
Over 97 million US residents exposed to unregulated contaminants in their drinking water
2025-01-15
Nearly a third of people in the U.S. have been exposed to unregulated contaminants in their drinking water that could impact their health, according to a new analysis by scientists at Silent Spring Institute. What’s more, Hispanic and Black residents are more likely than other groups to have unsafe levels of contaminants in their drinking water and are more likely to live near pollution sources.
The findings, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, add to growing concern about the quality of drinking water in the United States and the disproportionate impact of contamination ...
New large-scale study suggests no link between common brain malignancy and hormone therapy
2025-01-15
CLEVELAND, Ohio (Jan 15, 2025)–It’s not easy being a woman. Just look at the statistics. Women are more likely to have such debilitating conditions as osteoporosis, migraines, Alzheimer disease, depression, multiple sclerosis, and brain tumors. Sex hormones are often blamed. However, a new study suggests no link between hormone therapy (HT) and common brain tumors known as gliomas. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society.
The debate over the risks and benefits ...
AI helps to identify subjective cognitive decline during the menopause transition
2025-01-15
CLEVELAND, Ohio (Jan 15, 2025)—Artificial intelligence (AI) is positioned to make a major impact on almost every industry, including healthcare. A new study suggests that machine learning models can more quickly and affordably identify women with severe subjective cognitive decline during the menopause transition, effectively opening the door to better management of cognitive health. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society.
Subjective cognitive decline refers to a person’s ...
Machine learning assisted plasmonic absorbers
2025-01-15
Light absorption is a cornerstone for several applications such as solar cells, photodetectors, and optical sensors, to name a few. Yet, the trade-off between the thickness of the absorber and its efficiency has long limited the performance of such devices. The goal in this investigation is to get the best of both worlds—ultra-thin materials with maximized absorption.
In a recent paper published in Light: Science & Applications, a group of researchers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), led by Prof. Ying Wu and Prof. Xiangliang Zhang (now at University of Notre Dame), successfully put forward an efficient broadband light absorber ...
Healthy lifestyle changes shown to help low back pain
2025-01-15
Low back pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide with many treatments, such as medication, often failing to provide lasting relief. Researchers from the University of Sydney’s Centre for Rural Health have uncovered a possible solution. Their study, published in JAMA Network Open, found integrating lifestyle support into back pain care could reduce disability and enhance quality of life.
The randomised controlled trial included 346 participants from across Australia, all of whom had chronic low back pain and at least one lifestyle risk factor, such as obesity, poor diet, sedentary habits, or smoking. Participants were randomly assigned ...
Waking up is not stressful, study finds
2025-01-15
Waking up does not activate an increase in the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol does, however, increase in the hours prior to wakening as part of the body’s preparation for the next day, new research led by the University of Bristol has found. The study is published today [15 January] in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
For many years it has been generally accepted that waking up results in a stimulus to release hormone cortisol - a phenomenon called the “cortisol awakening response” (CAR). This response has been used to investigate many clinical conditions including PTSD, depression, obesity, and chronic ...
Texas A&M AgriLife Research aims for better control of widespread tomato spotted wilt virus
2025-01-15
MEDIA INQUIRES
WRITTEN BY
Laura Muntean
Olga ...
THE LANCET DIABETES & ENDOCRINOLOGY: Global Commission proposes major overhaul of obesity diagnosis, going beyond BMI to define when obesity is a disease.
2025-01-15
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology: Global Commission proposes major overhaul of obesity diagnosis, going beyond BMI to define when obesity is a disease.
Current medical approaches to diagnosing obesity rely on BMI which is not a reliable measure of health or illness at the individual level. This can result in misdiagnosis with negative consequences for people living with obesity and wider society.
The Commission on Clinical Obesity recommends a new, nuanced approach where measures of body fat - for example, waist circumference or direct fat measurement - in addition to BMI are used to detect obesity, therefore reducing the risk of misclassification.
Additionally, the ...
Floating solar panels could support US energy goals
2025-01-14
Federal reservoirs could help meet the country’s solar energy needs, according to a new study published in Solar Energy.
For the study, Evan Rosenlieb and Marie Rivers, geospatial scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), as well as Aaron Levine, a senior legal and regulatory analyst at NREL, quantified for the first time exactly how much energy could be generated from floating solar panel projects installed on federally owned or regulated reservoirs. (Developers can find specific details for each reservoir on the website AquaPV.)
And the potential is surprisingly ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained
Less intensive works best for agricultural soil
Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation
Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests
Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome
UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership
New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll
Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025
Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025
AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials
New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age
Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker
Chips off the old block
Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia
Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry
Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19
Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity
State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections
Young adults drive historic decline in smoking
NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research
Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development
This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack
FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology
In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity
Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects
A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions
AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate
Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative
Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine
[Press-News.org] New West Health-Gallup survey finds incoming Trump administration faces high public skepticism over plans to lower healthcare costsNearly half of Americans (46%) think the country is headed in the wrong direction when it comes to the incoming president’s policies to lower healthcare costs, while 31% say it’s on the right track, according to the latest West Health-Gallup survey.