Poll: Overall U.S. happy with healthcare

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A poll indicates U.S. residents are generally satisfied with the cost and quality of their healthcare, although they consider rising costs to be a problem.

A Gallup Poll released Wednesday says while 61 percent of Americans are satisfied with the cost of medical care, another 38 percent considered the costs to be the nation's greatest healthcare issue.

Among uninsured Americans, 27 percent were happy with the costs they pay for care while 69 percent were dissatisfied. At the same time, 42 percent of the respondents believed their cost burden would get worse if Washington passed healthcare reform.

"The cost factor is deeply troubling on a personal level to the uninsured population, but also ranks as the top concern of the insured," Gallup said in a written statement. "At the same time, Americans are much more skeptical than optimistic about the likelihood that healthcare reform will reduce their own healthcare costs."

Eighty percent of Americans were satisfied with the quality of care they received.

The Gallup Poll surveyed 1,030 U.S. adults by telephone Sept. 11-13. The margin of sampling error was pegged at plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.