Dozens of national surveys, reports and polls annually rank or grade Minnesota’s health care system and those in every other state on a host of performance measures. But what do Minnesotans think of their own health care system? The answer is, they think it’s pretty good.

That’s the big takeaway from a survey of a representative sample of 1,654 state residents conducted by Minnesota Public Radio News and the APM Research Lab, a division of American Public Radio. Some 418 of the respondents lived in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs when the organizations conducted the survey from Aug. 22 through Sept. 14.
 
The organizations queried Minnesotans on a variety of topics, including health care, and published their results in a recently released report, the 2017 Ground Level Survey of Minnesotans.
 
When asked whether there was one thing they would like to see changed in Minnesota to improve the state, only 8 percent said nothing—everything is perfect. Of the 82 percent who said something should change, changing health care was far down the list.
 
Health care finished sixth behind politics, taxes, social issues, infrastructure and education as institutions in need of change in Minnesota, according to the respondents. Health care, though, did finish ahead of the economy, public safety, social services, the environment, policies, immigration, government and recreation and leisure.
 
Other results that should give health care executives and leaders here a restful Thanksgiving included:
 

• 93 percent reported having health insurance benefits
• 72 percent said they trust the medical system here to “do what’s right” (That sentiment was the highest—80 percent in Rochester—and the lowest—62 percent in Northern Minnesota.)
• 67 percent said the state is “on the right track” when it comes to having good health care services
• 56 percent said the state is “on the right track” when it comes to providing mental health services
• 48 percent said they trust the health care system “most of the time” with 24 percent saying they trust the system “just about always”

 
“Minnesotans indicated they hold the highest levels of trust in the police and the medical system,” the report said. “This was followed by organized religion and the public schools, with the lowest levels of trust accruing to news media, big business and state government.”