NEW POLL: Two in Three Voters Prefer Candidates With a Plan to Lower Health Insurance Premiums

Voters favor candidates focused on reining in insurance delays and denials over those focused on lowering prescription medicine prices.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 18, 2026) - With the midterm elections approaching, a new Morning Consult and Voters for Cures poll finds voters are looking to candidates for solutions that lower health insurance costs and remove barriers that can delay access to care.

According to the poll, 66% of registered voters favor a candidate committed to lowering health insurance premiums, compared with 34% who favor a candidate committed to lowering prescription drug prices.

Voters expressed a similar preference when asked about barriers to care. Sixty-four percent prefer a candidate who would rein in insurance practices that delay access to medicines and treatments - such as prior authorizations and denials - compared with 36% who prefer a candidate focused on lowering prescription drug prices.

"Voters are sending a clear message about the health care issues they want candidates to address: the insurance costs hitting their wallets and the barriers standing between them and the care they need," said Robby Zirkelbach, chief public affairs officer at PhRMA. "Policymakers should focus on making health insurance work better for Americans, holding middlemen accountable and addressing the costs and practices throughout the health care system that make it harder for patients to afford and access care."

Health insurance costs top voters' health care priorities
When voters were asked to identify their two most important health care issues, insurance-related concerns rose to the top:

• 34% selected health insurance-related out-of-pocket costs, including copays, deductibles and coinsurance.
• 30% selected health insurance premiums.
• 23% selected the cost of hospital services.
• 23% selected the cost of prescription medicines.

Health insurance-related costs, including copays, deductibles and premiums, ranked as the most important health care issues for Republicans, Independents and Democrats, underscoring broad agreement among voters.

Voters concerned about what MFN price controls leave unaddressed
The poll also asked voters about a drug pricing proposal that would tie U.S. medicine prices to prices in other countries, known as Most Favored Nation, or MFN, price controls.

Most voters said the proposal would not address challenges across the health care system. After learning more about the policy, voters expressed concern that it would leave major cost drivers unaddressed:

• 75% were concerned MFN would not address the reality that hospital markups can exceed international prices by as much as 700%.
• 73% were concerned MFN would not address the share of medicine spending going to pharmacy benefit managers, insurers and others that did not develop the medicine.
• 67% were concerned MFN would not address foreign countries' failure to pay their fair share toward medicine research and development.

The findings show voters want reforms that lower their costs and reduce barriers to care - including policies that make health insurance work better for Americans, hold PBMs accountable, rein in hospital markups and ensure other wealthy countries contribute their fair share to medical innovation.

Read the full findings.

About PhRMA

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country's leading innovative biopharmaceutical research companies, which are focused on developing innovative medicines that transform lives and create a healthier world. Together, we are fighting for solutions to ensure patients can access and afford medicines that prevent, treat and cure disease. PhRMA member companies have invested more than $900 billion in the search for new treatments and cures over the last decade, supporting nearly five million jobs in the United States.

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