Unaffordable Healthcare Costs Hinder Care, Rhode Island Survey Reveals
TL/DR –
A survey conducted by the University of Rhode Island has found that unaffordable healthcare costs are causing people to delay necessary treatments, leading to poorer health outcomes. Among the respondents, 47% admitted to delaying recommended care because they couldn’t afford it, while another 23% thought it wasn’t worth the cost. The study also showed strong support for initiatives aimed at addressing the state’s shortage of primary care providers, with 82% backing the creation of a public medical school and 76% supporting loan forgiveness for doctors who stay in Rhode Island.
Unaffordable Healthcare Causes Major Concern in Rhode Island
Recent data reveals that prohibitive healthcare costs continue to hurdle care, according to Julie Keller, lead researcher of the Rhode Island Survey Initiative and associate professor of sociology at URI. She emphasizes the severe implications of delayed care, often leading to negative health outcomes.
Approximately 47 percent of respondents who postponed necessary care cited affordability as the issue. Another 23 percent could financially manage it but deemed it not worth the expense.
Interestingly, the survey noted strong support for potential solutions to Rhode Island’s scarcity of primary healthcare providers. About 82 percent backed the idea of a public medical school at URI, while 76 percent supported loan forgiveness for doctors who practice in the state.
The online survey conducted by YouGov from July 29 to Aug. 13 included 500 Rhode Island adults, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.73 percentage points.
The survey also indicated Rhode Islanders place greater trust in healthcare providers for accurate health information than political leaders or state or federal agencies. 93 percent expressed considerable trust in healthcare providers, contrasting with 56 percent for Rhode Island government officials, 66 percent for the CDC, 42 percent for Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., and 35 percent for President Trump.
Beyond health care, the annual survey encompasses a range of topics. Overall trust in state government slightly increased year over year, with 59 percent expressing a great deal or fair amount of trust in 2026, compared to 57 percent in 2025. Conversely, trust in the federal government dipped slightly to 39 percent in 2026 from 41 percent in 2025.
Across political affiliations, over half of Rhode Islanders prioritized housing as their top policy issue, followed by health care, infrastructure, and education. Housing concerns rose to 64 percent this year, a substantial increase from 51 percent in 2025.
Lastly, Rhode Islanders expressed higher satisfaction with their quality of life in 2026 compared to previous years. Around 60 percent of those surveyed expressed being very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with life in the Ocean State in 2026, a significant increase from 53 percent in 2025, and 52 percent in 2024.
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