On Healthcare Costs: In Battleground States and Districts, Republicans and Democrats Agree On Proposals to Lower Prices, Expand Coverage

News provided by

Jul 30, 2026, 09:00 ET

COLLEGE PARK, Md., July 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- With healthcare costs continuing to rank among Americans' top concerns, new surveys conducted in 11 competitive states and 28 congressional districts reveal common ground between Democrats and Republicans on proposals to reduce costs and increase access to health insurance.

Proposals for making drugs more affordable are supported by large majorities of Democrats and Republicans, including:

capping the price of prescription drugs to the price they are sold for in other developed countries
reforming patenting laws to bring more generic drugs on to the market

To increase access to health insurance, large bipartisan majorities favor restoring the recently expired enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, which will lower the cost of insurance.

While Congress has scheduled reductions in future Medicaid spending, the surveys find little public support for this – less than one in four Democrats or Republicans. Instead, large bipartisan majorities favor actually increasing spending on Medicaid to provide coverage to more low-income households.

The surveys find strong bipartisan majority support – at least two-thirds of Democrats and Republicans – for expanding government insurance options, including:

allowing people 55-64 to purchase a Medicare plan
creating a government-run health insurance plan that anyone can buy into (i.e., a public option)

For treatment of substance use disorder, bipartisan majorities favor the government investing billions of dollars more to help ensure access for all who need and want it.

These policies are derived from recent or existing Congressional legislation or White House proposals.

Steven Kull, Director of the University of Maryland's Program for Public Consultation (PPC), noted, "Americans are supportive of the federal government using many more tools to ensure access to healthcare. While political debate often emphasizes partisan disagreement, these surveys reveal substantial agreement on a number of specific policy solutions."

Common Ground in the Battlegrounds?
This survey release is the third in the Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? survey series being conducted by the Program for Public Consultation (PPC) in the run-up to the November election in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts.

Surveys on a total of fifteen topics will be released on a rolling basis until the midterm elections, covering over 100 specific policy questions. The policies – most of which are pending in Congress – were chosen because surveys by PPC and others consistently found majority Republican and Democratic agreement nationally. The results for all individual states and districts can be found here.

Reducing the Cost of Drugs
Overwhelming bipartisan majorities favor the government setting maximum prices for drugs sold in the US, based on what the drugs are sold for in other developed countries (which is about half the price on average). Over eight in ten Democrats (80 to 96%) and Republicans (81 to 95%) are in favor. Nationally, 86% of Democrats and 90% of Republicans are in favor, and 86% overall.

Large bipartisan majorities favor a proposal to bring more generic drugs to market by making it "illegal for drug companies – whose patent on a drug has come to an end – to pay generic drug companies to hold off making and selling that drug." (Democrats 69 to 89%, Republicans 71 to 86%). Nationally, 77% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans are in favor, and 76% overall.

Over two-thirds favor another patent reform proposal intended to lower drug prices: allowing the federal government to override a company's drug patent and license other companies to produce that drug, if the government determines the price is unaffordable, and the drug was developed with federal funding. (Democrats 70 to 87%, Republicans 68 to 90%). Nationally, 78% of Democrats and 83% of Republicans are in favor, and 79% overall.

Reinstating Enhanced ACA Subsidies
Reducing premiums and deductibles for health insurance bought on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, by reinstating the enhanced subsidies that expired this year, is favored by 83 to 94% of Democrats and 65 to 85% of Republicans. Nationally, 90% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans are in favor.

Spending on Medicaid
Given the option to increase federal spending on Medicaid and cover more people, keep it the same, or decrease it and cover fewer people, majorities of Democrats (74 to 91%) and Republicans (51 to 83%) say it should be increased. Nationally, 83% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans say the same.

Expanding Government Health Insurance
Allowing people aged 55 years or older to purchase a Medicare plan is favored by 74 to 92% of Democrats and 66 to 87% of Republicans. Nationally, 84% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans were in favor.

Creating a "government-run public option (similar to Medicare) and allow all individuals who want to buy into it," is favored by large majorities of Democrats (77 to 93%) and Republicans (66 to 84%). Nationally, 79% of Democrats and 76% of Republicans were in favor.

Funding for Substance Abuse Treatment
Large bipartisan majorities favor increasing federal spending on substance abuse treatment by $13 billion, "which would mean nearly all people who want and need treatment would get it" (Democrats 68 to 91%, Republicans 57 to 91%). Nationally, 93% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans are in favor.

In general, ensuring that every person who needs and wants substance use treatment can get it is seen as a high priority by overwhelming majorities (Democrats 89 to 97%, Republicans 75 to 95%). Nationally, 93% of Democrats and 86% of Republicans say the same.

MORE INFORMATION

About the Surveys
The state and district surveys used for this analysis were fielded May 27 - June 25, 2026, to a total of 19,564 adults, including 600-2,000 in each of the 11 states, and 400-500 in each of the 28 congressional districts. The response rates were 7.1 to 9.0%. The confidence intervals range from +/- 2.9 to 7.6%, and the maximum weights range from 1.9 to 6.9.

The national survey was fielded February 11-26, 2026, with 2,509 adults. The response rate was 7.6%. The confidence interval is +/- 2.9%, and the maximum weight is 2.5.

Sample was obtained from multiple online opt-in panels, including Cint, Dynata and Prodege. Sample collection and quality control was managed by QuantifyAI under the direction of the Program for Public Consultation. The surveys were offered in both English and Spanish.

The samples were pre-stratified and weighted by age, race, ethnicity, gender, education, household income, marital status, and home ownership to match the general adult population. The national sample was further weighted by Census region. Partisan distributions in each sample were within expectations, based on voter registration or Cook's Partisan Voting Index, or weighted to reflect those benchmarks.

About the Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? Survey Series
The Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? project will conduct and release a survey series in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts that will be released on a rolling basis between now and the midterm elections. Surveys will cover 15 topics and include over 100 specific policy questions. The goal of this effort is to determine where there is bipartisan common ground in competitive states and districts across the nation. Additionally, the project seeks to educate the public, policymakers and candidates about the findings; and provide journalists with independent, nonpartisan research that brings the public into the conversation about public policy.

In addition to PPC, project partners include the Civic Innovation Center at the University of Maryland (CivIC), and Voice of the People (VOP), a national nonpartisan organization seeking to give the public a greater voice in government. None of these entities advocate for policy positions or endorse candidates.

Program for Public Consultation
The Program for Public Consultation (PPC), affiliated with the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, develops and conducts public consultation surveys, in which respondents are informed about and deliberate on policy solutions being proposed by elected officials, and give their recommendations. It seeks to improve democratic governance by consulting representative samples of citizens on key public policy proposals, and sharing its findings with officials in government, the media, other academics, and the general public.

Civic Innovation Center
The Civic Innovation Center (CivIC) at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy works to strengthen the foundations of civic health. It contributes to important debates about civic education, civic engagement, and needed democratic reforms in the state of Maryland and nationwide, in partnership with other BIG 10 universities. It works to build the connective tissue that brings together students, scholars and practitioners to help elevate the UMD community's contribution to our wider democracy.

Voice of the People
Voice Of the People (VOP) is a nonpartisan organization working to re-anchor our democracy in its founding principles by giving 'We the People' a greater and more effective voice in government. It champions innovative methods and technology that enable the American people to play a role in the policymaking process and provide policymakers with a more accurate understanding of the views of their constituents.

Contact: Jonathan Casaverde,(786) 469-9422

[email protected]

SOURCE Program for Public Consultation