U.S. adults unhappy over healthcare access

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Despite the passage of healthcare reform, U.S. adults are barely more content today with the nation's healthcare system than before 2008, a survey indicates.

Gallup's Health and Healthcare survey, conducted Nov. 3-6, indicated 20 percent rated the quality of U.S. healthcare as excellent, while 39 percent rated it as good.

Most Americans said the U.S. healthcare system has major problems, while 16 percent said it is in a state of crisis and 73 percent saw the need for major reforms. The percentage saying the system is in crisis peaked at 21 percent in 2009 amid debate over President Barack Obama's healthcare plan but has since subsided to 16 percent, similar to where it stood prior to 2008.

Most U.S. adults cited access to healthcare and healthcare costs as the most urgent health problems facing the country, as they have done since 2003, followed by obesity and cancer as major healthcare concerns.

The telephone Gallup poll interviewed 1,012 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.