Here’s what MAHA voters really want from health care policy

May 6, 2026

2 min read

Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm

Here’s what MAHA voters really want from health care policy

A new KFF poll found that voters aligned with the “Make America Healthy Again” movement consider the cost of health care as their top policy priority

By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron

Attendees wear “Make American Healthy Again” hats during an “Eat Real Food” rally at Brazos Hall in Austin, Tex., on February 26, 2026.

Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

Sign Up for Our Free Daily NewsletterEnter your email

I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Scientific American and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Policy. We leverage third party services to both verify and deliver email. By providing your email address, you also consent to having the email address shared with third parties for those purposes.

Sign Up

“Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) voters across the political spectrum say lower health care costs are their top policy priority—outranking signature MAHA issues such as vaccine safety and pesticide-free foods—according to a new poll.

The MAHA movement, spearheaded by Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., promotes policies such as a shifting away from processed foods and encouraging regular exercise. But it has also sparked controversy and criticism from public health experts and doctors because some MAHA figures, including Kennedy, have questioned the science underlying vaccines and the causes of conditions such as autism.

The new poll, released on Wednesday by KFF, asked voters who support the MAHA movement about their top policy priorities. Overall, 42 percent said that “lowering the cost of health care, including prescription drugs,” was their number one issue. Cutting back on “chemical additives in the food supply” came in second, with 21 percent of MAHA voters listing it as their top priority, followed by “reevaluating the safety of vaccines” in the U.S., which was ranked first by 10 percent of MAHA voters.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Amanda Montañez; Source: KFF (data)

Interestingly, support for lower health care costs carried across political parties. Just more than half of MAHA voters in the poll were registered Republicans, nearly a third were Independents, and 15 percent were Democrats. But responders from all of these groups, including 57 percent of Democratic MAHA voters and 40 percent of Republican ones, listed health care as their top priority. KFF conducted the survey of more than 1,300 adults in April 2026.

The cost of health care was so important to MAHA voters, in fact, that the majority, 56 percent, said it would have a “major impact” on who they will vote for in the upcoming 2026 midterm election. About half of MAHA voters said it would affect whether they head to the polls at all.

Heath care is expensive—it cost the U.S. nearly $15,000 per person in 2024, according to estimates from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. That’s more than was spent that year by other wealthy countries, including Switzerland (which spent about $10,000 per person), Germany (about $9,400) and the Netherlands (about $8,400), according to the same estimates. Drug prices are also nearly three times higher in the U.S. than in similar countries, according to a 2024 Department of Health and Human Services report.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in th