Voters in battleground states are keenly aware of rising healthcare costs and want change, but it’s unclear how this will impact the midterm elections.
“Yes, I do have opinions about this,” said Milwaukee resident Addaru Valentine just after voting in Wisconsin’s primary election, in response to a question from The Epoch Times about healthcare affordability.
“It goes up 20 percent a year,” the 35-year-old electrical engineer said. “And I didn’t get a 20 percent raise every year.”
Valentine said he went from having a $500 annual deductible to a $3,000 deductible to being uninsured due to job loss.
Skyrocketing insurance premiums were just the start for Valentine and many other battleground-state voters. Many spoke about access, quality of care, and feeling disrespected by the healthcare establishment that demands more and more of their income.
Yet it’s unclear how much, if at all, that frustration will impact the 2026 midterm elections.
Though Democrats had vowed to make it a centerpiece of their election strategy, most now talk about affordability in general terms, along with housing, groceries, and gasoline.
Republicans have focused on structural fixes such as increasing price transparency and lowering prescription drug prices.
Anxiety Over Rising Costs
Anita Robertson, 40, a single mother of four from the Hampton Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, recently lost her state-sponsored insurance because of her income. The roughly $37,000 she earned from self-employment put her over the limit.
That forced her back to the commercial insurance market, where she found the prices much higher than a few years ago.
Robertson said she paid around $120 a month for an Obamacare plan in the early 2010s. Now the best option she can afford is $270 a month for a high-deductible plan.
“I’m responsible for the rest,” she said. “I’m scared to go to the doctor.”
The average family premium for employer-sponsored health insurance was about $13,700 in 2010. Last year, it was nearly $27,000.
Medical spending for an American family of four is nearly $10,000 per year now, including premium contributions and out-of-pocket spending. That’s almost double the amount in 2013, as reported by Peterson-KFF Health Systems Tracker.
The rapid increase in costs has done more than squeeze the household budget. It has kept some people from seeking treatment, even if they have some type of insurance.
Zach Holsch, 30, of Milwaukee’s Third Ward, is a caseworker who sees a lot of people struggling to afford healthcare.
“Healthcare costs are always a concern for my clients,” he said. “Some are afraid to seek medical treatment due to the unknown cost.”
Dyami Harris, 25, of Battle Creek, Michigan, said his father’s copay is $100 for every doctor visit. “He has avoided going to the doctor because he dreaded paying that $100,” Harris said.
