These are Americans’ biggest priorities for the government in 2026, according to a new poll

By LINLEY SANDERS, SIMRAN PARWANI, THOMAS BEAUMONT and MIKE CATALINI

WASHINGTON (AP) — Julia Dvorak is worried her 83-year-old mother’s emergency room trips for seizures are depleting her retirement savings and will soon force her to go on Medicaid.

At the same time, Dvorak, who’s 56 and suffers from a chronic knee condition that keeps her on state and federal assistance, expects her own health costs to go up next year.

It’s the kind of financial squeeze that has made health care a growing concern for Americans, according to a new AP-NORC poll that asked people to share their top priorities for the government to address in 2026.

The uptick on health care was much sharper than on other commonly mentioned issues. It comes after President Donald Trump’s Republican administration reduced spending on Medicaid, a safety net program for poor people, and decided to end coronavirus pandemic-era subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, essentially guaranteeing that millions of people will see a steep rise in costs early next year.

The changes could return health care to center stage in next year’s midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.

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