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 powered by SurveyMonkey.
But there is an undercurrent of frustration in the findings, too, with nearly one-quarter of respondents saying they’d been denied coverage or faced a delay from their insurance in the last two years.
Overall, 82% of Americans said they’re satisfied with their health care coverage, including a third who said they are very satisfied with their current coverage. The group that reported being the most satisfied were older adults, with 9 in 10 Americans over 65 years old saying they were satisfied. And 42% in that age group reported being “very satisfied.”
Roughly 9 in 10 of those who have public health insurance coverage through Medicare or Medicaid also reported being satisfied with coverage, compared to 77% of those with private health care coverage.
The findings, which are consistent with other surveys, underscore the nuances of the debate playing out in Washington and across the country around health care and affordability. They also set a marker ahead of a year that will see significant changes and cuts to Medicaid and costs likely to rise for millions of Americans. Premiums for people who get their health care through the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, are set to spike unless Congress can reach a deal to extend subsidies.
Young Americans were more likely to say they were dissatisfied with their health insurance than older Americans. Just under a quarter of those under 45 years old reported being dissatisfied with health insurance coverage. The same share of college graduates and self-identified political independents also reported being dissatisfied.
Challenges in receiving care, however, add another layer to the national conversation. NBC News has reported extensively on the issue of insurance claim denials and delays, and the issue is at the center of the nationally watched New York case against Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering a health insurance company CEO. And about a quarter of Americans (24%) said their health insurance company has delayed or denied their health care service, treatment or medication in the past two years, according to the survey.
Women were six points more likely than men to report that their coverage has 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 say they have been delayed or denied coverage in the past two years.
When it comes to Obamacare, 46% said they would rather keep it and 24% said they’d rather repeal it. Another 31% were not 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 years old (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 10 men 65 and older also said they want to repeal it.
With health insurance prices a growing issue for Americans heading into the 2026 midterm elections, 57% of respondents said they trust the Democratic Party to handle the issue, versus 43% who said they trust the Republican Party.
Women overall trust the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party to handle health care costs (64%-36%) whereas men were evenly split, 50%-50%.
The NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey surveyed 20,252 adults online from Nov. 20 to Dec. 8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points. Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
