TX voters skip health care due to uncertain costs, poll finds
For many Texas voters, the choice to seek out health care comes down to medical costs. At least that’s what our 5th Texas Voter Poll found after polling 1,000 Texas voters between Sept. 6-11.
Here’s why this matters.
A third of voters are skipping out on health care
The poll found that nearly a third of Texas voters (31%) said they have postponed or skipped medical treatment in recent years because they didn’t know what the costs might be.
- Of those voters, 49% were mothers with children.
- 41% of voters under the age of 55 also reported that they were not seeking health care due to the uncertainty about costs.
“While far too many Texas voters are skipping care due to high prices, our polling also shows that a lack of transparency around prices is its own, independent barrier to accessing care,” said Charles Miller, senior policy advisor for Texas 2036.
How transparent are Texas hospitals with their health care pricing? See our price transparency tool.
Those with lower incomes were more likely not to seek medical care
The big picture: The lower their incomes, the more likely voters were to report skipping treatments or surgeries.
- 39% of voters making less than $35,000 a year said they had skipped health care.
Health Care Prices: Website shows variability across Texas
Overall response on medical care was slightly lower than our last voter poll
While many Texas voters said they are skipping out on health care due to the uncertainty about costs, the overall responses were slightly lower compared to our last voter poll in January 2021.
- 34% of voters reported skipping treatments or surgeries over uncertain costs in January 2021. It was 31% in September.
See more from the 5th Texas Voter Poll:
Justice and Safety: What Texas voters are saying