Nearly nine in 10 people think the cost of care is a serious problem and two-thirds believe the cost of care has gotten worse in the past five years, according to a poll by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NPR and Harvard School of Public Health.
Many sick Americans (who comprised 27% of adults surveyed) reported having problems due to the cost of their own medical care, according to a press release. More than 40% say that the cost of their medical care over the last 12 months has caused a "very serious" (20%) or "somewhat serious" (23%) problem for their or their family's finances.
17% reported that high health care costs prevented them from getting needed medical care in the past year. In this group, half could not afford it, a quarter said insurance wouldn't cover it, and one-tenth reported being turned away by a doctor or hospital for financial or insurance reasons.
The poll also found that three-fifths of the general public believe the quality of health care is a serious problem for the country. About four in five people said not being able to afford to get the tests or drugs they need is a major reason for quality problems, while more than six in 10 said the influence of health insurance plans on treatment decisions is a major reason for quality problems.
The poll was done by telephone among a representative national sample of 1,508 adults age 18 and over from March 5 to 25, 2012. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The margin of error for the "sick" population is plus or minus 5.3 percentage points.
Blog | Tuesday, May 29, 2012
