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Just Released
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Poll: The ACA’s Pre-Existing Condition Protections Remain Popular
with the Public, including Republicans, As Legal Challenge Looms This
Week
As
Health Care Costs Remain on Top of Voters’ Minds, Americans Cite Unexpected
Medical Bills as Their Top Problem, Ahead of Premiums, Deductibles and Drugs
Public
Not Confident in President Trump’s Calls on Drug Companies to Lower Prices
As a federal court considers a challenge to the
Affordable Care Act’s constitutionality, the public, including most
Republicans, wants protections for people with pre-existing conditions
preserved, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll finds.
Large majorities of Americans say it is “very
important” to retain the ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from
denying coverage based on a person’s medical history (75%) and from charging
sick people more (72%). This includes majorities of
Democrats, independents and Republicans, as well as majorities of those
with and without people with pre-existing conditions in their households.
The ACA’s pre-existing condition protections have
emerged as a hot topic in some key Congressional races in part because of a
pending legal challenge filed by 20 Republican state attorneys general. The
Trump Administration has opted not to defend the law’s pre-existing condition
protections in the case, and a federal district court in Fort Worth, Texas is
scheduled to hear arguments on the challenge today. Republican Senators also
introduced a bill to address the issue if the ACA were overturned, though
some analysts say its protections fall short.
Four in 10 Americans (41%) say they are “very
worried” that they or a family member will lose coverage if the Supreme Court
overturns the ACA’s pre-existing condition protections. In addition,
half (52%) are “very worried” they or a family member will have to pay more
for coverage.
Americans
Cite Unexpected Medical Bills as Their Top Health Cost Concern
The public overall
also sees health costs as a major problem – with six in 10 (58%) saying they
are “very concerned” about increases in what people pay for health care.
When given a list of
possible worries, unexpected medical bills tops the list that includes other
health care costs such as premiums, deductibles and even drug costs.
Two-thirds (67%) say they are at least “somewhat” worried about affording an
unexpected medical bill – more than say the same about their deductibles
(53%), drug costs (44%) or premiums (42%).
Unexpected medical
bills also ranked higher than other pocketbook concerns such as gasoline or
transportation costs (46%), monthly utility bills (43%) and rent or mortgage
(41%).
Overall, 39 percent of insured adults ages 18-64
say that in the past year they have received an unexpected medical bill –
either from a doctor, hospital, or lab that they thought was covered and
their health plan either didn’t cover the bill at all or covered less than
they expected. For 10 percent of insured adults ages 18-64, the surprise bill
was related to care received from an out-of-network provider.
Half (50%) of those who had an unexpected medical
bill say the amount they were expected to pay was less than $500 overall.
Smaller shares say the amount was between $500 and $999 (16%), between $1,000
and $1,999 (12%); or $2,000 or more (13%).
Partisans
Split on Effectiveness of Trump Administration’s Efforts to Lower Drug Prices
President Trump
recently has publicly criticized several drug companies and called on them to
lower the cost of their prescription drugs. A majority (55%) of the public
say that this strategy of publicly calling on drug companies to lower their
costs will not be too effective or at all effective. Fewer (42%) say it will
be very or somewhat effective.
There are large partisan differences.
Three-fourths of Democrats (74%) say this strategy will not be effective, while
two-thirds of Republicans (67%) say it will
be effective. More independents say it will
not be effective than will
be effective (57% v. 41%).
In addition, 38
percent of Americans say they are either “very” or “somewhat” confident that
President Trump and his administration will be able to deliver on his promise
that Americans will pay less for prescription drugs than they pay now. This
number remains virtually unchanged since March 2018, before the
administration released its “American Patients First” plan aimed at lowering
drug prices.
The public debate over
drug prices appears to having an impact on the public’s views of drug
companies. When asked about the reasons behind rising health care costs, an
increasing share of the public blames prescription drug companies. Eight in
ten (78%) say drug companies making too much money is a “major reason” why
people’s health care costs have been rising, up from 62 percent in 2014.
Other top causes in the public’s mind include
fraud and waste in the health care system (71%), hospitals charging too much
(71%), and insurance companies making too much money (70%). About six in 10
(62%) say a major reason for rising costs is due to the expense of new drugs,
treatments, and medical technologies.
Fewer, but still about
half, say doctors charging too much (49%), an aging population (47%), and
medical malpractice lawsuits (45%) are “major reasons” for rising costs. Less
than half blame people getting more services than they really need (41%), the
Affordable Care Act (39%), the Trump administration’s recent actions on
health care (38%), or people not shopping for lower-priced services (28%).
Across
Parties, Costs Top Voters’ Health Care Concerns Heading into the Midterm
Elections
The poll finds
corruption in Washington, health care and the economy and jobs are what
voters want to hear candidates discuss on the campaign trail ahead of
November’s midterm election. Fielded after of the indictment of Michael Cohen
and initial trial of Paul Manafort, this is the first time the KFF poll
included corruption in Washington, D.C. in the list of possible campaign
topics, and the issue jumped to the top of the list.
Three in 10 of voters
(30%) say Washington corruption is the “most important” topic for candidates
to discuss, with health care (27%) and the economy and jobs (25%) close by.
In June, when Washington corruption wasn’t offered as an option, health care
and the economy topped the list of topics voters want to hear candidates
discuss.
Battleground voters –
those living in states and districts that the Cook Political Report rates as
having the most competitive House, Senate and gubernatorial races – rank
campaign topics similarly, with corruption (32%), the economy and jobs (27%)
and health care (26%) topping their list of “most important” topics.
When voters are asked
what health care issue they most
want to hear the candidates discuss, a quarter (27%) mention health care costs
– three times the share that mention any other health care issue, such as
increasing access (9%), universal coverage (8%), Medicare or senior concerns
(7%), or prescription drug costs (7%). Health care costs are the top health
care issue mentioned by Democratic voters (29%), independent voters (29%),
and Republican voters (25%).
Half
of Public Views the ACA Favorably This Month
This month marks the 90th time that KFF
has asked about the public’s perception of the Affordable Care Act on a poll
since April 2010. This month, half (50%) of the public holds a favorable view
of the law, while 40 percent hold an unfavorable view. Similar shares of
Republicans hold unfavorable views (78%) as Democrats hold favorable views
(77%). Half (50%) of independents holds favorable views toward the ACA, while
39 percent hold unfavorable views.
Methodology
Designed and analyzed
by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation, the poll was
conducted from August 23-28, 2018 among a nationally representative random digit
dial telephone sample of 1,201 adults. Interviews were conducted in English
and Spanish by landline (301) and cell phone (900). The margin of sampling
error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample. For results
based on subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher.
Filling
the need for trusted information on national health issues, the
Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco,
California.
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Wednesday, September 5, 2018
The ACA’s Pre-Existing Condition Protections Remain Popular with the Public
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