But the public's attitude toward health care in the real world is not nearly as sour as it appears online. According to survey data published this month, most Americans are pleased with their own health care. And they should be. They're much better off than their peers in government-run healthcare systems abroad and in our neighbor to the north, Canada.

That new survey data come from Gallup. Looking at the headline on the research outfit's website—"View of U.S. Healthcare Quality Declines to 24-Year Low"—you'd be forgiven for thinking that things were bad.

Indeed, Americans tend to take a dim view of their healthcare system in the abstract. Only 19% of Americans say they're satisfied with healthcare costs, and just 11% say healthcare quality is "excellent."

These negative opinions of the healthcare system writ large are partially a matter of perspective. Zoom out, and things tend to look bad. Everyone knows someone who has had to fight with an insurance company over a denied claim. News coverage is chock full of outrageous "medical bills of the month." America spends more on health care than its peer countries—but lags them on measures like life expectancy.

(Never mind, of course, that most of the discrepancy in life expectancy can be explained by the fact that Americans die of drug overdoses, traffic accidents, and gun violence at rates well beyond their peers. Our healthcare system has little to no impact on these causes of death—and their effect on life expectancy.)

Ask Americans about their own personal situation with the healthcare system, and their tune changes drastically. Seven in 10 Americans say the quality of the health care they receive is "excellent" or "good." Nearly two-thirds say the same about their health coverage, according to Gallup. Almost six in ten say they are satisfied with their own healthcare costs.

All those numbers are in line with what Americans have been saying for over two decades.

They're also in line with polling sponsored earlier this year by the organization I lead, the Pacific Research Institute. More than nine in ten likely voters told us in July that they were satisfied with their health insurance plans. That number has been on the upswing for three years running.

Americans' views of the healthcare system are similar to their views of Congress—they generally disapprove of the body at large but tend to like their individual representative.

People upset with the American healthcare systems would be wise to take a look at the misery that befalls patients in countries with government-run systems. Our peers abroad may have public coverage. But they struggle mightily to get access to care.

The median wait for treatment from a specialist following referral by a general practitioner in Canada was 30 weeks this year, according to a study published this month by the Fraser Institute. That's the longest wait time ever.

Things don't look much better across the pond. The United Kingdom's Secretary of Health, Wes Streeting, has called the country's National Health Service "broken." In England, the waiting list for elective treatment reached 7.7 million this year—nearly triple what it was a decade ago. Thanks in part to the NHS's failures, Britons are falling behind on metrics from life expectancy to infant mortality. An increasing number is seeking private care in response.

Despite a lack of universal coverage, Americans spend less out of pocket on health care than do people in other countries. According to a recent OECD study, out-of-pocket health costs accounted for just 2.8% of American household consumption in 2021. That's less than the OECD average of 3.3%—and less than what patients pay in Germany, Canada, Switzerland, and other developed countries.

The American healthcare system is not perfect. But we shouldn't lose sight of what the system gets right—and the fact that most people approve of their own experiences within it. If the next Congress adopts market-oriented reforms that empower doctors and patients, public satisfaction should increase.

Sally Pipes is the Pacific Research Institute’s president, CEO and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care policy