As healthcare expenses stay high on Americans' priority list, fresh polls from 11 competitive states and 28 congressional districts show shared views between Democrats and Republicans on steps to cut prices and improve insurance access.

Ideas for lowering drug prices draw wide support from both parties, such as:

setting a cap on prescription drug prices to match levels in other developed nations
updating patent rules to speed up availability of generic medicines

To broaden insurance access, strong majorities from both sides back renewing the expired enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that would reduce insurance premiums.

Although Congress plans future Medicaid spending cuts, the polls show scant backing for such moves, with fewer than one in four from either party in favor. Instead, large bipartisan groups support raising Medicaid funding to cover more low-income families.

The polls reveal solid bipartisan backing, with at least two-thirds from each party, for widening government insurance choices, including:

letting those aged 55-64 buy into Medicare
launching a government-run health plan open to all buyers (a public option)

For substance use disorder care, bipartisan groups support the government spending billions more to ensure treatment reaches everyone who seeks it.

These ideas stem from recent or current Congressional bills or White House plans.

Steven Kull, Director of the University of Maryland's Program for Public Consultation (PPC), said, "Americans back the federal government using additional tools to secure healthcare access. Though political talk often highlights divides, these polls uncover real agreement on several concrete policy ideas."

Common Ground in the Battlegrounds?
This poll release marks the third in the Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? series run by the Program for Public Consultation (PPC) ahead of the November election across 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts.

Polls on fifteen topics will roll out until the midterms, covering over 100 specific policy questions. The policies, most pending in Congress, were selected because prior PPC and other national surveys found majority agreement from both Republicans and Democrats. Results for each state and district appear here.

Cutting Drug Costs
Huge bipartisan groups favor the government capping drug prices in the US at levels seen in other developed countries (roughly half the current average price). Over eight in ten Democrats (80 to 96%) and Republicans (81 to 95%) support this. Nationally, 86% of Democrats and 90% of Republicans back it, for 86% overall.

Large bipartisan groups favor a plan to increase generic drug availability by making it "illegal for drug firms, once a patent ends, to pay generic makers to delay production and sales of that drug." (Democrats 69 to 89%, Republicans 71 to 86%). Nationally, 77% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans support it, for 76% overall.

Over two-thirds back another patent change to lower prices: letting the federal government override a drug patent and license other firms to make the drug if the price is deemed unaffordable and federal funds helped develop it. (Democrats 70 to 87%, Republicans 68 to 90%). Nationally, 78% of Democrats and 83% of Republicans support it, for 79% overall.

Restoring Enhanced ACA Subsidies
Cutting premiums and deductibles for marketplace insurance under the Affordable Care Act by bringing back the enhanced subsidies that ended this year draws support from 83 to 94% of Democrats and 65 to 85% of Republicans. Nationally, 90% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans favor it.

Medicaid Spending
When offered choices to raise federal Medicaid spending and cover more people, hold it steady, or cut it and cover fewer, majorities of Democrats (74 to 91%) and Republicans (51 to 83%) want an increase. Nationally, 83% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans agree.

Widening Government Health Insurance
Allowing people 55 and older to buy a Medicare plan is backed by 74 to 92% of Democrats and 66 to 87% of Republicans. Nationally, 84% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans support it.

Creating a "government-run public option (like Medicare) open to all who wish to join" draws large majorities from Democrats (77 to 93%) and Republicans (66 to 84%). Nationally, 79% of Democrats and 76% of Republicans favor it.

Funding for Substance Abuse Treatment
Large bipartisan groups support boosting federal substance abuse treatment spending by $13 billion "so nearly everyone who wants and needs care can receive it" (Democrats 68 to 91%, Republicans 57 to 91%). Nationally, 93% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans back it.

Overall, making sure every person needing and wanting substance use treatment can access it ranks as a high priority for overwhelming majorities (Democrats 89 to 97%, Republicans 75 to 95%). Nationally, 93% of Democrats and 86% of Republicans agree.

MORE INFORMATION

Individual State and District Results
National Questionnaire with Toplines, Crosstabs and Methodology

About the Surveys
The state and district polls used here ran from May 27 to June 25, 2026, with 19,564 adults total, including 600-2,000 per state and 400-500 per district. Response rates ranged from 7.1 to 9.0%. Confidence intervals span +/- 2.9 to 7.6%, with maximum weights from 1.9 to 6.9.

The national poll ran February 11-26, 2026, with 2,509 adults. The response rate was 7.6%. The confidence interval is +/- 2.9%, and the maximum weight is 2.5.

Sample came from online opt-in panels including Cint, Dynata and Prodege. Sample collection and quality checks were handled by QuantifyAI under PPC direction. Polls were available in English and Spanish.

Samples were pre-stratified and weighted by age, race, ethnicity, gender, education, household income, marital status, and home ownership to match the adult population. The national sample added weighting by Census region. Partisan splits in each sample stayed within expected ranges based on voter registration or Cook's Partisan Voting Index, or were adjusted to match those benchmarks.

About the Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? Survey Series
The Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? project will run and release polls in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts on a rolling basis through the midterms. Surveys will cover 15 topics and over 100 specific policy questions. The aim is to identify bipartisan common ground in competitive areas nationwide. The project also seeks to inform the public, policymakers and candidates of the findings and supply journalists with independent, nonpartisan research that includes the public in policy discussions.

Project partners besides PPC include the Civic Innovation Center at the University of Maryland (CivIC) and Voice of the People (VOP), a national nonpartisan group working to amplify public input in government. None of these groups push policy positions or back candidates.

Program for Public Consultation
The Program for Public Consultation (PPC), linked to the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, creates and runs public consultation surveys where respondents learn about and weigh policy ideas from elected officials before offering recommendations. It aims to strengthen democratic governance by consulting representative citizen samples on key policy proposals and sharing results with government officials, media, academics and the public.

Civic Innovation Center
The Civic Innovation Center (CivIC) at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy works to bolster civic health foundations. It joins key debates on civic education, engagement and democratic reforms in Maryland and across the nation, partnering with other BIG 10 universities. It builds connections among students, scholars and practitioners to boost UMD's role in broader democracy.

Voice of the People
Voice Of the People (VOP) is a nonpartisan group working to ground democracy in its founding principles by giving 'We the People' a stronger voice in government. It promotes new methods and technology that let Americans shape policymaking and give officials a clearer picture of constituent views.

Contact: Jonathan Casaverde, (786) 469-9422

[email protected]

SOURCE Program for Public Consultation