Cost is the most urgent healthcare problem in US

A survey of US adults finds nearly a quarter say cost is the most urgent health problem facing the nation today, surpassing access to healthcare. Americans named access to medical care as the top health problem from 2007-12 in the Gallup Poll. In 2007 and 2008, nearly 3-in-10 U.S. adults named access as the nation's main health concern, but this year the number dropped to 13 percentage points -- a 13-point decline, Gallup said. Nine percent of U.S. adults said "government interference" was the top problem facing healthcare, up from 2 percent last year. In November 2010 -- the year the Affordable Care Act was signed into law -- 10 percent of U.S. adults said government interference was the top problem. Among actual health ailments, obesity ranks first, with 13 percent naming it the most serious health problem, down from 16 percent last year. However, preliminary studies indicate U.S. obesity rates might have leveled and even made a small shift downward. This Gallup Poll was based on telephone interviews of 1,039 adults conducted Nov. 7-10. The survey has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.