A new poll from national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt (Undue) identifies rare common ground across Democrat, Republican and Independent voters: a deep desire to protect patients from medical debt. The poll used NORC’s nationally representative AmeriSpeak panel, conducted in partnership with bipartisan polling firm PerryUndem.

Seven-in-ten respondents believe healthcare is unaffordable and three-quarters (76%) want their state to pass laws that protect them from medical debt, across party ID. Nearly half of respondents (45%) are struggling to afford common medical expenses and more than one-third of voters (35%) have medical debt. At a time of extreme partisan division in American politics, the unaffordability of healthcare unites a vast majority of voters in their demand for action to combat the medical debt crisis.

Undue is the only national nonprofit that acquires and erases burdensome medical debts belonging to families primarily four times or below the federal poverty level. To date, it has relieved almost $23 billion of medical debt for over 14 million people in all 50 states. While the nonprofit grows its capacity to help families financially underwater by erasing healthcare debt, it simultaneously recognizes the need for broader policy changes that protect families from those debts in the first place.

Read the findings here: https://unduemedicaldebt.org/bipartisan-support-for-policies-that-protect-people-from-medical-debt/

“At a time of great political division, as health policy and insurance funding is literally the crux of one the longest government shutdowns in US history, it’s heartening to see that a desire for action from state officials to combat the medical debt crisis unifies voters,” shares Undue Medical Debt CEO and president Allison Sesso. “In our polling we have identified common sense, practical policy solutions that are already successfully protecting families from the financial and emotional turmoil of un-payable healthcare bills. Medical debt is a common ground issue that voters, almost universally, want their elected leaders to address.”

From Voters

“[Medical debt] on your credit report stops you from accessing jobs sometimes, homes, car loans… so much gets in the way between you and the life you want to live because of medical [debt].” – Black man, 35, urban Texas, Marketplace coverage

“I go to a food pantry and I work three jobs. You know what I mean? It’s hard, and it shouldn’t be that hard. I don’t have time to spend with my kids. I don’t have time to do things, because I have to work to eat.” – White woman, 43, rural West Virginia, uninsured

“I think this is the issue that’s like a common ground issue between Democrats and Republicans. When it comes to health insurance companies and just the costs… it doesn’t matter, you know, what’s your political ideology. I feel like everybody’s frustrated with the system and everybody wants it to be better and everybody wants costs to be lower.” – Black man, 28, urban Florida, marketplace coverage

Bipartisan Support for State Policy Fixes

• Three-quarters of voters (76%) across party ID say they want their state to pass laws that protect people from medical debt
• The majority of voters (77%) say they would feel more positively about their state elected officials if they passed these kinds of laws
• The top policy solutions by voter preference: limiting the interest rate allowed to be charged for medical debt (94% support across party ID); limit collection agencies’ ability to take a person’s house, belongings or cars due to medical debt (90%); require all hospitals to use the same, user-friendly application for financial assistance (89%) and pass laws to help people understand who is suing them for medical debt (89%)

The Burden of Medical Debt

• Over two-thirds (68%) of voters have to make sacrifices just to make ends meet, often at the expense of their physical and mental wellbeing
• Many voters (43%) say they must eat less food or buy less expensive foods that are not as healthy as a result of financial precarity
• Over half of voters (57%) say mental stress and anxiety is the hardest part of having medical debt

Voter Views on Healthcare

• When asked about who is looking after their best interests, voters say healthcare providers (85%) followed by hospitals (78%)
• An overwhelming majority of voters (84%) agree insurance should protect people from medical debt
• Voters believe that insurance companies are the most at fault for medical debt (63%) followed by pharmaceutical companies (12%)

With partisan conflict at the federal level slowing progress on healthcare policy to protect patients, state leaders are poised to pick up the mantle. 

• House Bill 257 in Ohio, sponsored by Rep Michele Grim (D) and Rep Jean Schmidt (R) is pending legislation that would ban medical debt from credit reports
• Bill H.419 in Massachusetts by Rep John Lawn (D) and Rep James Arena-DeRosa (D) is pending legislation that would ban medical debt from credit reports
• A bipartisan working group in Indiana’s legislature is also considering action to protect patients from un-payable medical debt
• Learn more about state policy action on medical debt: https://unduemedicaldebt.org/state-protections-on-credit-reporting-and-financial-assistance/

About the poll: The study involved a 12-minute national survey of 1,319 2024 general election voters. The survey was fielded online from August 21 to September 2, 2025. The margin of sampling error for total survey results is ± 3.63 percentage points.

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