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Voters' Views on Mental Health

A Nationwide Poll (2024)

Recent bipartisan polling of registered voters nationwide, conducted by Impact Research and Meeting Street Insights on behalf of Inseparable Action, found that voters view the growing mental health crisis facing the country as a top issue priority and think elected officials are not doing enough to address it. The poll also found strong support for requiring health insurance plans to expand coverage of mental health care and lower out-of-pocket costs for patients.

  • Across party lines, registered voters overwhelmingly agree that there is a growing mental health crisis in this country (89%, including 94% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans, and 87% of Independents). And they think it is getting worse for young people, with three-quarters saying children and youth today are facing more mental health challenges and struggles than in the past (75%).
  • Nine-in-10 voters say expanding access to mental health care (89%) and addressing the mental health crisis in this country (88%) should be important priorities for elected officials such as members of Congress and state legislators, including 56% and 54% who say each should be a very important priority, respectively. These concerns are bipartisan, spanning large majorities of Democrats (95% and 91% important), Republicans (84% and 86%), and Independents (86% for each).
  • Yet bipartisan majorities believe elected officials in their state are NOT currently doing enough to address mental health (61%, including 71% of Democrats, 51% of Republicans, and 63% of Independents).
  • 94% support requiring health plans to cover needed mental health care when prescribed by a patient’s doctor.
  • 90% support requiring health plans to maintain accurate and up-to-date information for consumers about the mental health providers in their networks.
  • 88% support expanding the use of telehealth for mental health care services.
  • 87% support requiring insurance companies to cover out-of-network mental health care at no extra cost to the patient when no in-network services are available.
  • 88% support prohibiting prior authorization for mental health services.
  • 84% support providing up to six free counseling sessions to children and young people under 21 experiencing mental health challenges.
  • 81% support expanding mental health services in K-12 schools by hiring and training more school psychologists, social workers, and counselors.
  • Three-in-four voters (73%, including 88% of Democrats, 63% of Republicans, and 67% of Independents) say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate for elected office like Congress or state legislature who supported the above proposals.
  • 60% of voters say they would be less likely to support a candidate who opposed these proposals.

Survey Method:

These findings are based on a nationwide online and text-to-web survey conducted in English and Spanish from July 22-29, 2024, among N=1,000 registered voters. The margin of error for the full sample is ±3.1% at the 95% level of confidence and higher for subgroups.

Medicaid Survey

Battleground States (2025)

A survey conducted by Meeting Street Insights, on behalf of Inseparable Action, of 1,000 registered voters in 10 battleground Congressional–AZ-01, AZ-06, CO-08, IA-01, ME-02, MI-07, NY-17, PA-01, PA-07, and PA-10–revealed broad, intense concerns about cutting Medicaid, especially when these cuts reduce access to mental health care. One hundred voters in these districts were interviewed by live telephone interviewers and text-to-web interviewing. Across party lines, Medicaid cuts were seen as politically risky–a common thread in these divided battleground districts.

  • When given a brief description of Medicaid, two-thirds of voters in battleground Congressional districts (86%) said cutting Medicaid benefits to pay for tax cuts was a bad idea–only 22% said it was a good idea. Republicans (42% good idea – 44% bad idea), Independents (23% – 61%), and Democrats 2% – 94%) were all more likely to say cutting Medicaid is a bad idea; this trend continued among voters of all gender, age, ethnicity, and education levels. Voters who were already highly interested in midterm elections were especially likely to say cutting Medicaid is a bad idea (21% good idea – 70% bad idea).
  • A solid majority of battleground district voters (59%) oppose requiring states to pay for a larger portion of Medicaid costs. Moreover, 63% of voters oppose cutting Medicaid expansion. Two-thirds of voters (67%) oppose cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts when told that Medicaid is the largest funder of mental health services nationwide. Only one-quarter (26%) of battleground voters support cutting medicaid when informed that cuts could reduce access to mental health services for low-income Americans. A majority of voters (55%) strongly oppose cuts in this context, while only 15% strongly support. Less than half of Republicans (47%) and Democrats (3%) across gender, race, age, and education lines support cutting Medicaid if it puts mental health care in jeopardy. Support was particularly low among Independents (31%), Hispanics (27%), women (19%), seniors (23%), and voters who said they were highly interested in the midterms (25%).
  • Even though the midterms are more than a year away, the generic Congressional ballots in the ten battleground districts were dead-even: 42% of voters preferred the Republican candidate, and 43% of voters chose the Democratic one. Despite this split, more than half of voters (52%) said that they would be less likely to vote for a Congressmember who supports Medicaid cuts, while only 17% said they’d be more likely to back that Member (28% said it would make no difference). Independents (50%), Hispanics (49%), women (60%), seniors (52%), and suburban voters (51%) were especially likely to say they would not vote for Congressmembers who support Medicaid cuts.

Survey Method:

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Youth Mental Health Focus Groups

PA, OK, GA (2025)

Six voter focus groups in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Georgia, conducted by Meeting Street Insights on behalf of Inseparable, revealed major concerns about the state of youth mental health. Many voters across party lines see youth mental health as a crisis–and one that’s worsening. While voters see youth mental health as a complex issue, many of them were able to brainstorm solutions to the crisis. Across the political spectrum, voters agreed that schools have a role to play in solving the mental health crisis–particularly when parents and educators work hand-in-hand. While there was a partisan split about cutting government spending, Democrats and Republicans agreed that Medicaid shouldn’t be cut.

  • Most focus group participants said they had recently seen, read, or heard something about youth mental health, and nearly everyone felt the crisis is worsening. On a scale of 1 (not concerned) to 10 (extremely concerned), the average concern score was 7.9.
  • Democratic participants were more likely to mention negative emotions and systemic challenges contributing to youth mental health. Republicans, meanwhile, cited crime, violence, family dynamics, and social pressures.
  • Increasing access to mental health services, including school counselors, was the most commonly mentioned solution. Democrats supported more funding for mental health coverage, while Republicans emphasized strengthening families and parent-school partnerships. Expanding access to extracurricular and community activities like sports, churches, and community groups was also widely supported. An Oklahoma Republican noted, “a lot of people lack community and connectedness. Now everyone’s more isolated.” Voters agreed kids face too much pressure today, especially from social media and cell phones.
  • Given the sheer amount of time that young people spend in schools, teachers and school staff were seen as well-positioned to notice mental health issues as they arise. Voters agreed that parents and schools should work together to support students’ mental health, but they also said that this relationship has deteriorated over time–nowadays, it seems like parents are more likely to advocate for their children instead of taking the teacher’s side in disputes. Some voters worried about the overdiagnosis of mental illnesses and the over-prescription of medications, and few Republican voters worried about schools overstepping their bounds and making decisions that ought to be left up to parents, but most voters said that they had no problem with schools taking an active role in youth mental health.
  • On a scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 10 (completely agree), the average agreement score among voters when prompted with a message about parents and educators working hand-in-hand to support youth mental health was 9.3. In response to a message advocating for schools to adopt youth mental health programs, the mean agreement score was 8.1. When told that mental health challenges are on the rise and schools should be providing children with the care that they currently aren’t getting, the average agreement score across all focus groups was 7.8. Additionally, messaging elements that emphasized having everyone in a child’s life on the same page working together, addressed the hesitation that mental health services can be perceived as impeding parents’ rights, said that all children deserve supportive mental health programs, and stressed the importance of early intervention worked especially well.
  • Almost all Republicans supported cutting government spending, while Democrats were firmly opposed. Republicans cited waste, fraud, and inefficiency as reasons to cut spending; Democrats agreed waste existed but felt current efforts weren’t fixing it. Medicaid was not seen as a good place for cuts.

Survey Method:

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Youth Mental Health Poll

Nationwide (2025)

A national online survey of 1,000 adults (aged 18+), conducted by Meeting Street Insights on behalf of Inseparable, revealed grave concerns about the state of youth mental health. Most adults said that schools should play a major role in addressing the growing mental health crisis, and many went on to express a desire for collaboration between educators and parents.

  • On a Likert scale question registering concern about youth mental health of 1 (not concerned at all) to 10 (extremely concerned), 54% of adults responded somewhere between 8-10–27% of adults responded 10. There was higher concern among parents (59% of moms and 56% of days responded between 8-10), and this concern was similar across party lines (50% of Republicans, 51% of Independents, and 59% of Democrats responded between 8-10).
  • When asked about how large of a role, if any, schools should have in improving youth mental health, 69% of adults said that schools should play a major role (53%) or take the lead (17%). This perspective was shared between political parties (63% of Republicans, 67% of Independents, and 77% of Democrats) and did not depend on one’s parenting status (68% of non-parents, 71% of dads, and 76% of moms said that schools should take the lead or play a major role in improving mental health).
  • 85% of adults said that they agreed with a statement claiming that the best safety net for children’s mental health is having parents and educators working hand-in-hand. Women aged 55+ (90%) and moms (84%) displayed the strongest support for the statement, while Democrats (89%) and Republicans (86%) also agreed that parents and educators should work collaboratively to support youth mental health.

Survey Method:

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Voters’ View on Mental Health Poll

Nationwide (2024)

Recent bipartisan polling of registered voters nationwide, conducted by Impact Research and Meeting Street Insights on behalf of Inseparable Action, found that voters view the growing mental health crisis facing the country as a top issue priority and think elected officials are not doing enough to address it. The poll also found strong support for requiring health insurance plans to expand coverage of mental health care and lower out-of-pocket costs for patients.

  • Across party lines, registered voters overwhelmingly agree that there is a growing mental health crisis in this country (89%, including 94% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans, and 87% of Independents). And they think it is getting worse for young people, with three-quarters saying children and youth today are facing more mental health challenges and struggles than in the past (75%).
  • Nine-in-10 voters say expanding access to mental health care (89%) and addressing the mental health crisis in this country (88%) should be important priorities for elected officials such as members of Congress and state legislators, including 56% and 54% who say each should be a very important priority, respectively. These concerns are bipartisan, spanning large majorities of Democrats (95% and 91% important), Republicans (84% and 86%), and Independents (86% for each).
  • Yet bipartisan majorities believe elected officials in their state are NOT currently doing enough to address mental health (61%, including 71% of Democrats, 51% of Republicans, and 63% of Independents).
  • 94% support requiring health plans to cover needed mental health care when prescribed by a patient’s doctor.
  • 90% support requiring health plans to maintain accurate and up-to-date information for consumers about the mental health providers in their networks.
  • 88% support expanding the use of telehealth for mental health care services.
  • 87% support requiring insurance companies to cover out-of-network mental health care at no extra cost to the patient when no in-network services are available.
  • 88% support prohibiting prior authorization for mental health services.
  • 84% support providing up to six free counseling sessions to children and young people under 21 experiencing mental health challenges.
  • 81% support expanding mental health services in K-12 schools by hiring and training more school psychologists, social workers, and counselors.
  • Three-in-four voters (73%, including 88% of Democrats, 63% of Republicans, and 67% of Independents) say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate for elected office like Congress or state legislature who supported the above proposals.
  • 60% of voters say they would be less likely to support a candidate who opposed these proposals.

Survey Method:

These findings are based on a nationwide online and text-to-web survey conducted in English and Spanish from July 22-29, 2024, among N=1,000 registered voters. The margin of error for the full sample is ±3.1% at the 95% level of confidence and higher for subgroups.

Mental Health Poll

Nationwide (2023)

Polling of registered voters nationwide, conducted on behalf of Inseparable Action, found strong, bipartisan concern about a growing mental health crisis facing the country.

The poll also found strong support for a range of proposed solutions to expand services in K-12 schools and require health insurance plans to expand coverage of mental health care.

  • An overwhelming, bipartisan majority of registered voters agree that there is a growing mental health crisis in this country facing both adults (90%) and children and youth (91%, including 93% of parents with children 18 or younger at home).
  • Majorities of voters say that it is currently difficult for both adults (59% say it is difficult) and children and youth (54%, including 53% of parents) to get access to mental health care. A bipartisan, 62% majority of voters also say mental health care is currently too expensive.
  • Nine-in-10 voters (90%) say expanding access to mental health care should be an important priority for elected officials such as members of Congress and state legislators, including 60% who say it should be a very important priority. Majorities of Democrats (97% important), Republicans (88%), and Independents (85%) all share this concern.
  • Six-in-10 voters (62%) and parents (60%) say insufficient mental health services in schools for children and youth who are struggling is a major problem contributing to the mental health crisis.
  • Proposals to expand mental health services in K-12 schools receive wide, bipartisan support.
  • Two-thirds of voters say health insurance companies denying coverage of needed mental health services is a major problem contributing to the mental health crisis (64%). A similarly large majority say another major problem is that mental health care is too expensive and many people cannot afford the care they need (68%).
  • Proposals to require insurance companies to improve their coverage of mental health care garner overwhelming, bipartisan support.
  • Meanwhile, voters say they would be less likely to support a candidate who opposed these proposals (61% less likely / 20% more likely / 11% no difference).

Survey Method:

These findings are based on an online and text-to-web survey conducted November 17-22, 2023, among N=1,000 registered voters. The margin of error for the full sample is ±3.1% at the 95% level of confidence and higher for subgroups.

Voters View on Youth Mental Health

CO (2023)

In a recent survey of Colorado voters, particularly parents, it was evident that the overwhelming majority believe there is a mental health crisis among youth that needs to be addressed.

  • 95% of Colorado parents agreed that there is a growing mental health crisis affecting children and youth.
  • 91% of parents agreed that we should make no-cost mental health services available to youth in Colorado who are struggling.
  • 93% of parents agreed that health insurance companies should be required to cover needed mental health care when prescribed by a patient’s doctor.
  • 93% of parents agreed insurance companies should be required to maintain accurate and up-to-date information for consumers about mental health care providers in their network.

Survey Method:

The interviews were conducted from December 11th to 18th, 2023. The overall survey responses have a margin of error of +/- 3.24% at the 95% confidence interval. Population subgroups will have a higher margin of error than the overall sample. The survey data were weighted to be representative of Colorado’s voter registration demographics.

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