3. Americans are quite positive about the quality of healthcare they personally receive. Their ratings of healthcare quality nationally are less positive, but still in majority territory.

Fifty-four percent of Americans rate the quality of healthcare in this country as excellent or good, down slightly from previous years. This measure has fluctuated somewhat since 2001, from a high of 62% in 2010 and 2012 to a low of 53% in 2001 and 2005-2006.

Almost eight in 10 Americans (79%) rate the quality of healthcare they personally receive as excellent or good, roughly at the average on this combined positive measure since 2001. During that time, however, some Americans with positive attitudes have shifted their assessments from the “good” category to “excellent.” Currently, 39% rate their healthcare quality as excellent and 40% rate it as good; as recently as 2007, it was 33% excellent and 50% good.

Americans’ highly positive ratings of healthcare quality — both personal and national — contrast with their lower ratings of healthcare cost and coverage. These findings reinforce a conclusion that Americans’ issues with healthcare today are not so much about the actual treatment they receive, but more about how that treatment is paid for.