Millions of Americans aren’t able to get and afford the care they need, find appropriate medical providers in their area, or get help managing their conditions. The U.S.’s high health care costs, lack of universal coverage, severe health inequities, and poor long-term health outcomes impede many Americans’ ability to get and stay healthy over their lifetimes. In a new survey, the Commonwealth Fund asked people to identify what they think are the most important problems in the health care system and who should be best able to solve them.

With survey partners SSRS, The Commonwealth Fund interviewed more than 25,000 U.S. adults in May 2026. Americans ranked the high cost of health insurance and health care as top concerns, regardless of their political party, with opinions split on who can best address the problems.

The Commonwealth Fund conducted a national, probability-based survey with the SSRS Opinion Panel Mega-Omnibus from May 4 through May 26, 2026, among a sample of 25,873 respondents age 18 and older in the United States. This blog post focuses on 25,858 respondents age 19 and older.

The authors thank Rob Manley, Elizabeth Sciupac, and Robyn Rapoport of SSRS and Deborah Lorber, Jen Wilson, and Paul Frame of the Commonwealth Fund.