Thirty-six percent of providers believe payers reliably deliver on promises, according to an inaugural Aetna provider survey released April 8.
The survey will run quarterly, polling representatives of U.S. healthcare providers. This round fielded responses from 827 hospital system executives, physicians, nurses, pharmacists and health IT leaders over the first quarter of 2026. Global decision intelligence company Morning Consult conducted the survey.
Here are six takeaways from the survey:
1. Providers have a general sense of optimism regarding the healthcare system. Sixty percent of respondents believe healthcare “will become less burdensome,” 57% believe healthcare access will become more equitable, over 75% say patient experience will improve and 52% believe healthcare navigation will become more manageable for patients over the next five years.
2. The average provider-payer trust score was over 50%.
3. Only 44% of respondents think the payers they currently work with prioritize clarity and patient well-being. Twenty-six percent said the single most important action payers could take is helping patients navigate the healthcare landscape.
4. When asked what providers would change about healthcare today, the most popular answer was administrative burden (26%), followed by patients’ care access (21%) and complex insurance processes (17%).
5. Sixty-five percent of providers agree prior authorization is needed in some capacity to understand medical needs, hold parties financially accountable and cut low-value care.
6. Over half of providers believe in AI improving healthcare through simplified and expedited administrative procedures. Eighty-seven percent of providers believe technological advances will produce stronger health outcomes over the next five years, and over three-quarters of respondents said technology is among their top investment priorities for the next three years.
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