Large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans believe nurses and health care aides are underpaid, according to a recent poll.

More than 7 in 10 Americans trust both nurses and doctors to do what is right for them and their families, the findings show. However, 59% think nurses are underpaid, and 61% say the same of health care aides.

In contrast, only 11% of Americans think doctors are underpaid, while half say they are paid the right amount. Most of the country also thinks physical therapists and pharmacists are paid appropriately.

“Most of the public clearly believes doctors are paid about the right amount or are overpaid, but many Americans don’t have an accurate sense of doctors’ salaries,” says Joshua Gottlieb, an associate professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, which conducted the poll with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

“More research on health care workers’ pay could better inform public opinion around health care policies, spending, and the government’s role in shaping contemporary labor markets.”

Views on doctors’ pay are not tied to partisanship, with 36% of both Democrats and Republicans saying doctors are overpaid.

Americans’ views of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a single-payer system, and a government-provided public option for healthcare have not shifted significantly since the pandemic. Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans to support each of those policies.

Adults who support the ACA are more likely to favor government funding to increase doctors’ salaries (23% vs. 13%) than those who oppose it. Likewise, they are more likely to support funding to increase the number of doctors (73% vs. 42%).

Majorities of Americans believe the ACA had no effect on the pay of doctors or nurses, but about a third think the law created a windfall for hospital and insurance executives. Significant majorities of Democrats and Republicans say both hospital and insurance executives are overpaid, and three-quarters of the public doesn’t trust hospital executives to do what is right for them and their families.

Read the full article about nurses pay at Futurity.