Texas voters back tougher rules on healthcare prices and ownership, poll finds

A new Texas 2036 poll says overwhelming majorities of registered voters want more transparency, stronger merger oversight and clearer ownership disclosures in healthcare. The results land as Texas lawmakers hold hearings on affordability and consider ways to curb rising medical costs.

Why it matters: - Healthcare affordability has become a broad pocketbook issue for Texas voters, with support spanning transparency, competition and merger oversight. - The poll suggests voters are open to state action even if they do not agree on one single fix. - The results could shape debate as lawmakers look for ways to lower medical costs for patients, employers and taxpayers.

What happened: - Texas 2036 released its 10th Texas Voter Poll, an August 2026 survey of registered voters. - The poll found strong support for making it easier to know who owns a hospital, doctor’s office or health insurer. - The survey also found strong support for knowing the price of a medical procedure before non-emergency care is delivered. - The Texas House Select Committee on Health Care Affordability held a hearing Tuesday after months of studying healthcare costs and possible solutions. - Charles Miller, Texas 2036’s director of health and economic mobility policy, was scheduled to testify before the committee as an invited witness.

The details: - 90% of voters said Texans should have the right to know who owns their hospitals, doctors’ offices and health insurers. - 81% supported more active state regulation of healthcare mergers to maintain competition, while 9% opposed it. - Support for more active merger regulation was up from 75% in November 2024. - 79% favored requiring transparent and binding prices before non-emergency care, while 11% opposed it. - 58% supported enhanced antitrust enforcement, compared with 20% who opposed it. - 59% favored breaking up existing healthcare companies to increase competition, while 23% opposed it. - 59% supported prohibiting hospitals and insurers from owning physician groups, while 25% opposed it. - 55% supported banning private equity ownership of healthcare providers, while 26% opposed it. - 61% opposed doing nothing, while 18% supported keeping the status quo. - The poll surveyed 1,369 registered voters from Aug. 22-26 and was weighted to a base of 1,001. - Baselice & Associates conducted the survey for Texas 2036. - The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1%. - In late 2024, 71% of Texas voters said they were paying more for healthcare than five years earlier. - In 2025, the average annual premium for a family with employer-sponsored coverage reached nearly $27,000. - That premium cost equals about a third of the median Texas household income. - Separate statewide polling found nearly nine in 10 Texans were concerned about healthcare prices. - Another poll found 63% had delayed or skipped care because they could not afford it.

Between the lines: - The strongest public support is for transparency and competition, not for government price controls or a single-payer model. - That leaves lawmakers room to pursue multiple reforms without needing voters to rally behind one specific proposal. - The numbers also show that Texans with insurance are still feeling pressure through premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. - Texas 2036 framed the market as one where prices reflect market power and limited competition more than value and quality.

What's next: - Texas lawmakers are expected to keep weighing healthcare affordability reforms as the House committee continues its work. - Miller said Texas has an opportunity to become a national leader on reforms that improve healthcare markets for patients, employers and taxpayers. - The central political opening, based on the poll, is broad voter frustration with high prices and a lack of visibility into who owns providers and what care will cost.