New Poll Results Show Rising Health Care Costs Impacting Physical, Financial Health of New Hampshire Residents

CONCORD, NH — Rising health care costs continue to cause health and financial strain for New Hampshire residents, according to poll results released this week by New Futures, New Hampshire’s leading health care policy and advocacy organization.

The New Hampshire Consumer Healthcare Experience Survey, conducted this spring by the Healthcare Value Hub at Altarum in partnership with New Futures, showed that a strong majority of respondents have experienced hardship due to health care costs and many have foregone health insurance coverage, or medical care due to costs.

“This important survey confirms what we have long known to be true: high health care costs are harming the health and well-being of New Hampshire residents,” said New Futures’ President Michele D. Merritt, Esq. “Instead of ensuring access to care, rising health insurance premiums and medical costs are preventing people from getting the care they need. This destructive trend is unsustainable and will cost New Hampshire deeply over the long run, both in terms of individual and community health, and cost to our public health system.”

Conducted between March 26-May 14, 2024, the Healthcare Experience Survey reached more than 1,300 adults all across New Hampshire. Of those surveyed:

• 71 percent of respondents reported delaying or going without health care over the prior 12 months due to cost;
• 53 percent of respondents reported being worried about affording the cost of their prescription drugs;
• 41 percent of respondents reported struggling to pay their medical bills;
• 47 percent of uninsured respondents reported cost as the reason for going without insurance

In addition to these takeaways, results of the Healthcare Experience Survey showed strong bipartisan support among respondents for government intervention to better contain healthcare costs. Of those surveyed, more than 92 percent indicated the government should take action to cap out-of-pocket costs for life-saving medication; 92 percent indicated the government should require drug companies to provide advanced notice of price increases; and 91 percent agreed the government should expand insurance coverage options so that everyone can afford health insurance. Each of these categories earned support from 96 percent of Democratic respondents and 87 of Republicans.

Full survey results are available here.

“The health of our state is not a partisan issue,” Merritt said. “From these results, it is clear that the people of New Hampshire want our elected leaders to act now to better control health care costs. At New Futures, we look forward to working with our lawmakers in the coming year and beyond to address these issues and help support the physical and financial health of our state and its people.”

ABOUT NEW FUTURES

New Futures is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to solve New Hampshire’s problems through policy change.s. Learn more at new-futures.org.

ABOUT THE HEALTHCARE VALUE HUB AT ALTARUM

With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Arnold Ventures, the Healthcare Value Hub provides free, timely information about the policies and practices needed to achieve health systems that are equitable, affordable, and focused on the goals and needs of the people the system is meant to serve.