Another Survey on How Americans Feel About Health Care

Health care is a big part of the economy and a big part of American’s lives, so it is no surprise that there are a lot of health-care related groups floating around out there.  It can be hard sometimes to figure out funding and agendas, which tend to be linked.  One such group is called Consumers for Quality Care (which raises a question, are there some Americans who don’t want quality care?) and it has released a survey which validates what we already know, people aren’t too happy with the state of health care in the US.   (CFQC Survey)   The survey had 1700 adult respondents and was conducted in March 2018.  When asked about what types of cost give them the most concern, health care comes in first, cited by 85% as the top concern.  Among health care concerns, premium levels were cited by 28% as their most important issue and 18% as their second most, which deductibles and copays were cited by 26% as the top concern and 27% as the next greatest one.  The usual suspects get the blame, 47% say insurers have some responsibility, 43% say drug companies, and a third the federal government.  Apparently very view identify the biggest culprit–providers.

While 87% say they trust their doctor to put their medical needs above other factors, 64% believe physicians factor in insurance type when deciding on treatments and 59% thought insurance might limit treatment options.  Minority groups tend to believe this most strongly, as do people on Medicaid.  A majority believe health insurance has gotten worse, covering fewer services and majority also believe that fewer doctors accept their insurance than did in the past.  38% have difficulty understanding medical bills and getting help from their insurer.  Very few, around 14%, say they have problems getting a routine doctor appointment.  17% say they had at least one occasion in the last year when they needed medical care and couldn’t get it, with the vast majority of these people being on Medicaid or uninsured.  About 50% of respondents said the quality of health care in the US was good and around 40% said the quality of health insurance was good. Finally, the respondents indicated support for political candidates who would make changes to the system.  Haven’t we had enough changes to the system, which just always seem to make it worse.  At some point consumers need to take a look in the mirror; you can’t have all the health care you want and have costs be low.