A national survey of 1,750 U.S. adults finds that frustration with the healthcare system runs deepest in midlife, not old age.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL / ACCESS Newswire / July 9, 2026 / Adults aged 30 to 44 were more than twice as likely as those over 60 to say a doctor had dismissed a health concern in the past two years (38% vs. 17%), according to a national survey released by The Longevity Centers of America (LCOA).
The finding runs counter to a common assumption that older adults, who use the healthcare system most, are its most frustrated users. It surfaced alongside a wider pattern the survey calls an expectation gap: a near-universal desire for prevention-focused care, paired with far lower confidence that people's own doctors deliver it. The survey of 1,750 U.S. adults was commissioned by LCOA, a physician-led practice focused on preventive, root-cause care.
The generational inversion
Working-age adults reported the most friction with the system. Beyond feeling dismissed, adults 30 to 44 were twice as likely as those over 60 to report low or no confidence in the healthcare system overall (39% vs. 19%). Across every measure the survey tracked, sentiment was hardest among working-age adults and eased with age.
The pattern is notable because it inverts who is usually assumed to be most dissatisfied. The people entering the years when preventive care matters most are the ones expressing the least trust.
The expectation gap
Interest in prevention was nearly universal, but confidence in getting it was not. While 90% of respondents said they want care centered on prevention and early testing, just 22% were very confident their doctor looks for the root cause of a problem.
Respondents also signaled where they want the system to go. Six in ten (60%) want a combination of conventional medicine and lifestyle, nutrition, and preventive approaches, while only 16% trust the conventional system alone to most improve their long-term health. Openness was broad, with 83% reporting they are open to integrative care.
The affordability divide
Cost continues to shape who gets care, and the burden is uneven. Nearly half of Americans (48%) were not confident they could afford a serious, unexpected medical event without major financial hardship, and 40% reported delaying or skipping care because of cost in the past year.
That exposure falls hardest on lower-income households. Adults earning under $50,000 were twice as likely as those earning more than $150,000 to say they could not absorb a major medical event (58% vs. 29%).
"The people who should be most engaged in their long-term health, adults in their 30s and 40s, are the ones telling us they feel dismissed," said Kyle Hulbert, chief executive officer of The Longevity Centers of America. "That runs against everything the system assumes, and it should concern anyone who cares about where healthcare is headed."
"People are not asking for less medicine. They are asking for care that looks earlier and digs deeper," said Dr. Benjamin Kosubevsky, DO, of The Longevity Centers of America. "The gap between wanting prevention and believing you are getting it is the story worth watching in the years ahead."
Methodology
The Longevity Centers of America National Healthcare Confidence Survey polled 1,750 U.S. adults via Pollfish, with fieldwork completed June 7, 2026. Results are balanced to reflect national demographics by age, gender, and region. As a non-probability, opt-in online sample, figures carry an estimated credibility interval of approximately ±2.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, calculated on a design-adjusted effective sample of 1,351. Subgroup differences were tested for statistical significance and corrected for multiple comparisons, and no subgroup is reported below a 100-responder base. Figures may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
About The Longevity Centers of America
The Longevity Centers of America is a physician-led practice focused on preventive, root-cause care, with locations in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Greenville, South Carolina. The practice combines diagnostic testing with regenerative and integrative therapies to support long-term wellness. Learn more at https://www.thelcoa.com/.
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The Longevity Centers of America's therapies are designed to support general wellness and nutritional status, not to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Media Contact
Kyle Hulbert, Chief Operating Officer
Phone: 561-721-3629
Email: infogvl@thelcoa.com
Contact Longevity Centers of America
Read the Full Survey Results and Dataset
SOURCE: The Longevity Center OA
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/new-survey-from-the-longevity-centers-of-america-finds-working-age-am-1188155
