The news: Pharma companies and health insurers rank among the most corrupt industries in the US, according to an August Navigator Research survey of 1,000 registered voters. The survey broadly frames corruption as systemic abuse and self-serving corporate behavior that drives up costs.

• 42% named prescription drug companies as corrupt, second only to oil and gas companies at 47%.
• Health insurance companies ranked fourth at 37%, behind big tech and AI companies at 40%.

Why it matters: Pharma and health insurers consistently receive low favorability scores in surveys about US business sectors—being ranked among the most corrupt industries takes that disrepute to a different level.

Voters favor regulatory action to address corruption, particularly around driving up costs.

• 62%strongly support banning companies from unfairly raising costs.
• 60% also say bans on unfair price increases during emergencies or shortages are very important.

Consumer support for regulation is particularly clear around prescription drugs.

• 72% of US adults say there is not enough government regulation limiting drug prices, according to a March KFF Health Tracking Poll.
• Support crosses party lines, with 77% of Democrats, 72% of Independents, and 68% of Republicans calling for more regulation.

Lawmakers are also tying healthcare industries to corporate greed. The bipartisan “Break Up Big Medicine Act,” calls for federal intervention to restrict certain joint ownership involving medical providers, insurers, PBMs, and drug wholesalers, with forced asset sales and other penalties for companies that fail to comply.

Implications for pharma and health insurance companies: The corruption label could turn a deep-rooted reputational challenge into greater political pressure. Calling an industry corrupt shifts the debate from whether its products and services provide value to whether its companies use their power fairly. For pharma and insurers, familiar messages about clinical value, care quality, patient support, and efforts to lower costs do not directly address questions about how prices are set or coverage decisions are made.

Ranking alongside oil and gas and big tech also places pharma and insurers within a broader category of perceived corporate bad actors rather than isolated criticism around healthcare. Navigator found that the most convincing anti-corruption argument across industries for voters was that no one is above the law. That makes transparency around decision-making and evidence of accountability more central to how both industries communicate with the public and engage with lawmakers and regulators.

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