Poll: Most people are satisfied with their health insurance, but about a quarter have faced denials or delays
A large majority of adults in the United States report overall satisfaction with their health insurance coverage, including many older adults and people on Medicare and Medicaid, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey.
Yet a notable undercurrent of frustration runs through the findings: nearly one in four respondents said they had been denied coverage or experienced a delay from their insurer in the past two years.
Overall, 82% of Americans say they are satisfied with their health care coverage, with about one in three describing themselves as very satisfied. The highest satisfaction levels come from older adults: 9 in 10 people over 65 say they are satisfied, and 42% of that age group report being very satisfied.
Likewise, about 9 in 10 individuals with public coverage through Medicare or Medicaid express satisfaction, compared with 77% of those with private insurance.
These results, echoed by other surveys, highlight the nuanced debates in Washington and across the country about health care access and affordability. They also establish a benchmark ahead of a year that is expected to bring meaningful Medicaid changes and potential cost increases for millions, as premiums for those purchasing insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are anticipated to rise unless Congress extends subsidies.
Younger Americans tended to be less satisfied with their health insurance than older cohorts. Just under a quarter of those under 45 reported dissatisfaction with their coverage. The same share of college graduates and self-described political independents also reported dissatisfaction.
Beyond coverage satisfaction, access to care remains a central issue. NBC News has extensively covered insurer claim denials and delays, a topic that also features in a high-profile national case in New York involving a health insurance executive and related discussions about care access.
According to the poll, about 24% of Americans say their health insurance company delayed or denied a health service, treatment, or medication in the past two years.
Gender differences show women are six percentage points more likely than men to report a denial or delay (27% vs. 21%).
People with private coverage (26%) were slightly more likely than those with public coverage (23%) to report delays or denials in the past two years.
On the ACA, support is mixed: 46% would keep it, 24% prefer repeal, and 31% are unsure.
Interestingly, those with private coverage are nearly as inclined to support keeping the ACA as those with public coverage (47% vs. 46%).
Support for keeping the ACA is higher among certain groups, including a majority of Democrats (79%), a majority of Black Americans (61%), women under 30 (59%), and all adults under 30 (52%). Conversely, a majority of Republicans (56%) and a sizable share of Trump supporters (69%) favor repeal. Among men aged 65 and older, four in 10 also favor repeal.
As costs of health insurance remain a dominant issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, trust in party leadership on this topic is polarized: 57% of respondents trust the Democratic Party to manage health care costs, compared with 43% who trust the Republican Party.
Among women, trust in the Democrats for handling health care costs surpasses trust in Republicans (64% vs. 36%), while men are evenly split (50%–50%).
The NBC News Decision Desk Poll, conducted online with 20,252 adults from November 20 to December 8, has a margin of error of ±1.9 percentage points. Totals may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
Reporting credits: Stephanie Perry, manager of exit polling at NBC News; Marc Trussler, director of data science at the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies (PORES).
