Medical debt higher among Republican voters than Democrats: report

Republican voters carry higher average levels of medical debt than Democratic voters, according to an analysis examining how health care costs affect Americans across political groups.

The report, published by the policy organization Third Way, estimates that Republican voters collectively hold approximately $70 billion in medical debt compared with $65 billion for Democratic voters.

The findings were part of the first analysis of partisan differences in medical debt, said the report by David Kendall, Third Way senior fellow for health and fiscal policy.

“On average, Republicans carry $1,800 more in medical debt than Democratic voters,” Kendall wrote. “This burden stems from problems in our health care system — from gaps in coverage to high costs — even for those who are insured.

“Yet, Republican officials have largely ignored these problems and, in many cases, have made them worse with cuts to health care coverage and opposition to Affordable Care Act tax credits,” Kendall added.

Researchers based their findings on data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, as well as exit polling from the 2024 presidential election. The analysis compared medical debt levels with voting patterns and demographic trends to better understand how financial burdens related to health care differ among voters.

On average, Republican voters carry an estimated $11,300 in past-due medical bills, about $1,800 more than the estimated $9,500 carried by Democratic voters, according to the analysis.

The report suggests demographic patterns help explain why Republican voters carry higher average debt levels. Several groups that report higher medical debt also supported President Donald J. Trump in greater numbers during the 2024 election. Those groups include men, adults 45 years and older, people without college degrees, rural residents and households with annual incomes below $100,000. According to the analysis, these populations tend to have higher medical debt burdens than other groups.

For example, men carry an average of $6,566 more in medical debt than women. Exit polling cited in the report found Trump received 55% of the male vote compared with 43% for Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in the 2024 election and vice president under President Joe Biden.

Although Republican voters carry larger average balances, the report found that a slightly greater share of Democratic voters report having medical debt. About 9.2% of Harris voters reported medical debt, compared with 8% of Trump voters, according to the analysis.

Researchers noted that the difference reflects the complex mix of demographic, income and coverage factors that influence both health care costs and voting behavior. The report argues that gaps in health insurance coverage and high out-of-pocket costs contribute to medical debt even among insured patients. It concludes that addressing the issue will require policies aimed at expanding coverage and reducing the cost of care for patients.

Some of those policy measures already have bipartisan support, including:

• Six in 10 Republicans support keeping medical debt off consumer credit reports.
• Eight in 10 Republicans support restrictions on aggressive debt-collection practices, such as wage garnishment or home foreclosure.
• Six in 10 Republicans support state laws designed to protect consumers from medical debt.

Democrats and independent voters expressed even higher levels of support for those types of policies, the report said. The findings suggest that, despite differences in debt levels across political groups, there may be common ground among voters in addressing the financial consequences of medical care. Even so, Kendall wrote “Republican leaders are increasing medical debt,” making the problem worse, not better:

• Trump is putting medical debt back on credit reports, reversing Biden’s removal of it.
• Republicans have cut health care coverage, which projections estimate could push 5 million people into medical debt.
• The Trump administration and congressional Republicans are making enrollment in coverage more difficult by eliminating automatic reenrollment in coverage and preventing enrollment for working-class seniors in programs that cover high out-of-pocket costs.