Targeted News Service November 29, 2018
WASHINGTON, Nov.
28 -- Gallup, a research-based, global performance-management consulting
company, issued the following news:
- 20 percent of Americans are satisfied with healthcare costs
- 34 percent in U.S. say healthcare coverage is
excellent or good
- 25 percent say
cost is top U.S. health problem, 22 percent say access
Most Americans
continue to see healthcare costs in the U.S. as a major issue. One in
five (20 percent) are currently satisfied with the total cost, while 79 percent
are dissatisfied, in line with Gallup's overall trend since 2001. Satisfaction with U.S. healthcare
costs has never exceeded 28 percent, and was as low as 8 percent in May
1993, when President Bill Clinton was launching his ultimately failed
attempt to reform the healthcare system.
The latest results
are based on Gallup's annual Healthcare survey, conducted Nov. 1-12.
Costs are not
Americans' only concern with the healthcare system. The public is also highly
critical of healthcare coverage in the U.S. Thirty-four percent
describe healthcare coverage as excellent or good, while 40 percent say it is
only fair and 26 percent poor.
Americans have been
somewhat more positive about U.S. healthcare coverage during
the Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations than they
were in the prior eight years under George W. Bush. Between 2001 and 2008,
an average of 27 percent of Americans rated healthcare coverage as excellent or
good, with the percentage never exceeding 30 percent. Since 2009, the average
has been 35 percent, although it has been below that mark each of the past four
years.
In November
2009, as Congress was debating healthcare legislation, the percentage
of Americans satisfied with health coverage jumped from 26 percent to 38
percent, perhaps because those opposed to what became the Affordable Care Act
were more inclined to view the status quo positively.
The high point in
ratings of U.S. healthcare coverage, 41 percent, came shortly after
Obama's re-election. By that time, some of the provisions of the Affordable
Care Act had gone into effect, including allowing eligibility for people up to
age 26 to stay on their parents' healthcare plans. Forty-eight percent approved
of the law in the November 2012 poll, which was the highest in the
trend until it surpassed a majority in the spring of 2017
after Republicans attempted to repeal the law.
Americans Pleased
With the Quality of Healthcare
Quality is one
aspect of U.S. healthcare Americans are pleased with -- 55 percent
rate U.S. healthcare quality as excellent (17 percent) or good (38
percent). Thirty-one percent believe quality is only fair and 14 percent say it
is poor.
A majority
of U.S. adults have consistently rated healthcare quality positively,
including highs of 62 percent in 2010 and 2012.
Americans See Cost
and Access as the Most Urgent Health Problems
Consistent with
their concerns about healthcare costs and coverage, Americans are most likely
to identify cost and access to healthcare when asked to name the most urgent
health problem facing the country. One in four Americans mentioned an issue
related to the cost of healthcare in the latest survey, while nearly as many,
22 percent, mentioned something related to healthcare access. These two issues
have topped the list each year since 2003.
The high ranking of
cost and access over the last 15 years reflects a shift in Americans' concerns
about health in the U.S. from years earlier when specific diseases or
health threats topped the list. From 1987 through 1997, the top-mentioned
national health issue was AIDS (1987-1997); in 1999 it was cancer (1999) and in
2001, following anthrax-laced letters being sent to high profile targets in the
media and federal government, it was bioterrorism.
Insurance coverage
for individuals with pre-existing conditions was featured prominently in much
of the Democratic Party's election messaging this year. Nevertheless,
the broader issue of healthcare access hasn't gained more traction as a
top-of-mind healthcare concern, with 22 percent today mentioning it vs. 24
percent, a year ago. At the same time, the 25 percent now mentioning cost as
the top problem is up from 16 percent in 2017, but it is similar to the levels
recorded in the two prior years.
While cost and
access are by far the most common concerns, several other health issues are on
the minds of sizable segments of Americans.
* Ten percent of
Americans say drug or alcohol abuse is the most urgent problem, down slightly
from 14 percent last year. Prior to 2017, the percentage citing substance abuse
had never been higher than 6 percent, and the increase may reflect the opioid
crisis.
* Ten percent cite
cancer as the most pressing issue this year, similar to past years.
* Obesity rounds
off the top five mentioned issues, garnering 7 percent of mentions.
Implications
Healthcare
continues to be a major issue in U.S. politics even after the passage
of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. Americans' frustrations seem to center
largely on healthcare costs and access. The law has done little to reverse the
course of healthcare inflation, and the prices of policies on the government's
healthcare exchange have risen dramatically in some markets. But the law has
increased access, noted by the significant decline in the percentage of
uninsured.
Republican attempts
to weaken the law, by dropping the "individual mandate" requirement
and their attempts to remove protections for those with pre-existing
conditions, became a major campaign issue in this fall's midterm elections.
Prior to the election, Gallup found 80 percent of Americans reporting that
healthcare would be extremely or very important to how they vote, the highest
percentage for any issue.
Given this, and
that Americans have consistently cited cost and access as the most pressing
health problem facing the U.S., the public sees the need for more
government action on the issue. Passage of the ACA in 2010 did not settle the
matter for Americans, nor have efforts to repeal it. The new Democratic
majority in the House of Representatives plans to make healthcare
reform a major part of its agenda. Whether it can be resolved may depend on
their ability to fashion a bipartisan solution that
brings Republicans and Democrats together on the issue.
[TNStrends]
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