Statewide Poll Shows Virginians View Hospitals Favorably, Have Concerns About Health Insurance and Pharmaceutical Costs

December 22, 2025

Results from a Statewide Survey by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy Provides Insights into Voter Views on Hospitals, Insurers, Pharmaceuticals, State and Federal Health Policies, and Patient and Consumer Behavior

RICHMOND, VA - Virginians hold hospitals in high esteem and say that they and their families have had positive experiences when visiting hospitals for medical care.

Overall, 81 percent of Virginia voters have a favorable opinion about Virginia hospitals and 82 percent report a positive personal experience as a patient or close family member of someone receiving care, according to a recent statewide public opinion survey from Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy.

Those findings align with previous statewide poll results that show strongly positive views about Virginia hospitals. More broadly, they also underscore the many public health and economic contributions hospitals make in communities across the Commonwealth. Data shows that in 2024 Virginia hospitals generated $68.8 billion in positive state economic activity, provided more than 130,000 direct jobs as top employers in many Virginia cities and counties, accommodated 4.45 million annual patient days and more than 813,000 inpatient admissions, and handled nearly 92 percent of voluntary and involuntary behavioral health inpatient admissions statewide. In recent years, Virginia hospitals have delivered more than 86,000 babies annually.

In contrast to positive views about hospitals, Virginians hold strongly unfavorable opinions of health insurers (62 percent unfavorable compared to 34 percent favorable) and pharmaceutical companies (75 percent unfavorable compared to 18 percent favorable). When it comes to healthcare spending, voters cite out-of-pocket insurance costs such as co-pays and deductibles (32 percent), monthly insurance premiums (27 percent), and prescription drug costs (15 percent) as their top healthcare cost concerns. And when asked for their views on what is most responsible for rising healthcare costs, Virginians listed health insurance companies (35 percent), the government (21 percent), and drug companies (17 percent) among their top responses.

In other results, the Mason-Dixon poll shows that:

• About one-fourth of voters (28 percent) say they have experienced a delay or denial of care recommended by a healthcare provider due to insurance prior authorization policies. Of that group, 77 percent say that government should take action to limit insurance prior authorization policies.
• 41 percent of Virginians say that online information sources ranging from medical resource websites to social media channels and internet personalities have at least some influence on their personal healthcare decision making, while 59 percent said those sources do not influence them.
• Support for Virginia's certificate of public need (COPN) law remains strong with 68 percent of voters expressing support for keeping the current system in place compared to just 12 percent who want to eliminate COPN.
• By a substantial margin, Virginians support keeping the current medical malpractice damage award cap of $2.65 million in place, with 51 percent supporting that position and another 27 percent expressing support for maintaining the cap with some increase to the cap amount. Just 18 percent want to eliminate the cap.
• There is strong support for preserving Virginia's right to work law, which bans requiring workers to be in a union as a condition of employment. In all, 81 percent support keeping the law in place, with 46 percent in favor of leaving the law as is and another 35 percent expressing support for maintaining the law while reforming it. Just 15 percent favor repealing the law.
• By a nearly 4-to-1 margin (75 percent to 19 percent), Virginia voters say that the U.S. Congress should extend tax credits currently available to help eligible individuals and families purchase health insurance plans. The enhanced premium tax credits (EPTC), which help eligible households lower their payments toward premiums for qualified health plans offered through Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance exchanges, are set to expire at the end of this year without congressional action. The EPTCs were established under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and extended under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to help more families afford coverage. In Virginia, it has been estimated that as many as 100,000 people could lose coverage if the tax credits expire. Anticipating that, health insurers offering marketplace plans have implemented substantial rate hikes for 2026 coverage.
• Virginia voters also expressed broad opposition (59 percent to 34 percent) to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) approved by Congress and signed into law by the President in July. That budget reconciliation legislation makes a series of significant policy changes, including revised Medicaid eligibility standards and funding cuts of roughly $1 trillion over a decade. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has projected that 10 million Americans could lose health coverage in the years ahead under the legislation. In Virginia, estimates indicate hospitals could lose billions in annual funding to sustain their operations and that 300,000 Virginians may lose health coverage. When asked about those potential impacts, 70 percent of Virginia voters said they have an unfavorable view of OBBBA, compared to 30 percent with a favorable view.

The statewide survey results are based on a poll of 800 registered Virginia voters conducted Nov. 19-22, 2025. It featured live landline and cell phone interviews with Virginians from all regions of the state representing the ethnic, gender, age, geographic, and political diversity of the Commonwealth. The poll is the latest in a series of surveys commissioned by the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) to help identify health care issues of concern to Virginians, better understand public sentiment about them, and to inform the Association's approach to public policy engagement.

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 116 hospitals and 26 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both health care and health to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Its vision is through collaboration with members and stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of Virginia's health care system, transform the delivery of care to promote lower costs and high value across the continuum of care, and to improve health for all Virginians. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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