InsuranceQuotes.com
recently released the results of its 2020 State of
Healthcare and Politics Report and survey data unveils
Americans’ preferences, concerns, and knowledge related to Medicare for All,
Obamacare, the state of healthcare, Medicare’s risk of going bankrupt, and
healthcare access for undocumented immigrants.
According to the
report, 62% of Americans “most strongly support” a U.S. healthcare system that
includes both public and private insurance, while 25% favor a Medicare For All
system that ends private insurance and 9% favor a system that includes only private
insurance. In addition, 58% believe that undocumented immigrants should have
health insurance access, while 39% believe they should not.
“Medicare For All is
obviously a much-talked about proposal, with buzz and support behind it, as
well as its share of questions and opposition. The data shows that if Medicare
For All means that private insurance is eliminated, the American people are not
currently ready for that,” says Jason Hargraves, managing editor at
insuranceQuotes.com. “As the election approaches, the candidates will have to
solidify their plans and then make their case.”
Additional study
findings include:
- 50% of Americans
say that since President Trump took office, the U.S. healthcare system has
stayed about the same in quality, while 28% say worse and 18% say better.
- 43% assert that
Medicare is at risk of going bankrupt in the future, while 43% assert that
it is not.
- 34% are unaware
that Obamacare is still in effect.
The report is a
follow-up to the 2019 State of
Healthcare and Politics Report, released last October, which
found that 41% said they do not know what healthcare open enrollment is, and
14% falsely said it was cancelled.
Nick DiUlio,
analyst at insuranceQuotes.com, says that each year, the study focuses on
different topics that happen to be important in that year.
“Last year we looked
at perception on the ACA and open enrollment,” DiUlio tells Managed
Healthcare Executive. “People were misinformed or underinformed. This year
we focused on perceptions or desires of what type of healthcare system people
want this year.”
In response to some
of the study’s findings, DiUlio believes some Americans have become
unaware that Obamacare is still in effect because it may have to do with the
ways the Trump Administration has done what it can to weaken the ACA and not
promote or educate the public on Obamacare.
In addition to
findings related to why Americans favor a public-private hybrid Healthcare
System over Medicare For All, DiUlio says people are nervous to go to one
extreme to another, although public and private are a mixture of healthcare.
Lastly, he shares
that a number of people support undocumented immigrants to receive access to
health insurance because it may be a “humanitarian and economic component.”
“There are a lot of
people who understand an unhealthy environment or population will have a
negative impact on country,” he says. “There is a significant amount of
(undocumented immigrants) here and in the workforce. If they don’t get the care
they need, it’s not a positive thing for our country.”
DiUlio also clears
the air about rumors that Medicare being at risk of going bankrupt.
“People have asked if
Medicare was at risk of going bankrupt,” he says. “What is important is that
Medicare cannot go bankrupt. It’s a budget item that requires funding every
year. If it were in financial trouble, there are ways of funding it. (Medicare)
will remain. It can’t happen and will not happen.”
The 2020 open
enrollment period—which is the timeframe when people can enroll in a health
insurance plan for 2020 coverage—runs from November 1 through December 15.
Briana Contreras is
associate editor for Managed Healthcare Executive.
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