The priorities of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement enjoy strong bipartisan support. A new poll by Cygnal conducted in February for the Patient First Coalition confirms this. On a fundamental level, Americans deeply understand that improving their health is the priority and that too often, government policies stand in the way.
What is MAHA? It is the understanding that good health must come before health care. For most of us most of the time, our individual health status is determined by the choices we make around diet, daily habits, and exercise. Our environment impacts as well.
Lobbyist-soaked Washington, DC doesn’t care about your health. They care about payments for health care products and services. A cynic would say that is because there is more money to be made on you being sick than you being healthy. There is less money to be made in prevention.
Are people getting healthier? It is a question infrequently asked. Unfortunately, the answer is no.
Fortunately, our new Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is asking that question. Our rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and auto-immune diseases have skyrocketed in the last 40 years. If a foreign enemy did this much harm to us, we’d consider it an act of war.
A new poll of 1,500 likely 2026 general election voters confirms that Americans know the right path forward. Broadly speaking, Americans are most strongly supportive of policies that support maximum transparency in our health care institutions. All government agencies that touch health care should be upfront with their data, funding streams, and conflicts of interest. Voters want unbiased facts and robust, uncensored debate.
Fully 80 percent believe pharmaceutical companies should be required to release all clinical trial data for independent review before a drug or vaccine is approved. Seventy-five percent want the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to publish all research, industry-funded and independent, that meets minimum scientific standards for new drugs, vaccines, and food additives.
Another 65 percent of respondents want to see FDA and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reduce conflicts of interest they may have with pharmaceutical companies. When asked to rank their health policy priorities among the universe of options, lowering prescription drug costs was number one. But a clear second was increasing access to affordable, healthy foods.
Among the poll’s findings:
- 77 percent want clearer labels on processed foods.
- 75 percent want to ban artificial food dyes.
- 71 percent agree that schools, hospitals, and government-funded programs should phase out processed foods in favor of minimally-processed and whole foods.
Interestingly, 74 percent of voters think that if all our G8 allies around the world ban a certain food additive, pharmaceutical, or medical treatment – or place significant restrictions on it – but the US does not, then we must conduct an immediate review of that product’s safety and approval process. This stands in contrast to the stereotype that Americans are not interested in findings made in other countries.
Additionally, 66 percent of voters wish to see independent audits of how HHS and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) allocate their scientific research funds. This question did not mention the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by name, but the result is consistent with Americans’ support of more transparency in how their tax dollars are utilized. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has a 51-38 percent favorable image in the seven swing states.
Honest science is pro-transparency and welcomes hard questions. The American people share that view and understand that science is rarely “settled.” U.S. Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) five minute monologue at RFK’s hearing last month articulated why people distrust government and are right to demand more information and uncensored debate. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President Trump’s nominee to run NIH, is a firm believer in free and open dialogue.
The MAHA movement is about going upstream from health care to promoting and fostering better health. If we as Americans want any hope of affording our health care in the future, we must move our focus to proactive health and away from reactive treatments. This new poll helps point a path for the Trump administration and Congress to follow.
Jim Frogue is a senior advisor to the Patient First Coalition. He also served as senior health policy advisor to candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race. He is a partner at FrogueClark.