One Third of Americans Say Healthcare Costs Are Top Economic Issue

Americans are most worried about healthcare costs affecting the U.S. economy over other financial hot topics such as tax increases and income inequality, according to a survey just released by GOBankingRates.com.

Although the economy often takes priority in voters’ minds over issues like immigration, terrorism or racism, GOBankingRates delved deeper to find which particular economic issues matter most to American voters.

The survey asked respondents to rank the following financial burdens from most significant to least significant. The following percentages reflect how frequently the specific answer choice was selected as being the No. 1 issue hindering the economy:

Healthcare costs — 31% Social Security benefits — 16% Income inequality — 15% Tax increases — 13% Higher education costs — 13% Military spending — 11%

“Our study found that ‘healthcare costs’ was chosen as most significant twice as much as the other five financial burdens,” said Kristen Bonner, research lead for GOBankingRates’ Financial Burdens Survey. “Even more alarming, every age group, with the exception of people under 24 years old and people over 65, chose healthcare costs as most significant more than any other factor.”

Additional Insights:

Although women are more concerned with the economic impacts of healthcare costs, men are more worried by the burden tax increases will have on the economy. 1 in 3 millennials (ages 18 to 24) selected college costs as the No. 1 financial burden Americans face. Democrats chose income inequality as the biggest financial burden on the U.S. economy four times more than Republicans did. Republicans are about four times as likely as Democrats to say tax increases are the top financial burden.

In addition to investigating what Americans believe is the biggest economic burden for the U.S. as a whole, GOBankingRates also asked respondents about their personal financial concerns, finding that one in four Americans says cost of living is the No. 1 financial problem affecting them as individuals. Insufficient income and healthcare costs took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively.