A recent survey from The Commonwealth Fund shows two-thirds of those in the health care industry think expanding health coverage and improving quality and efficiency, as well as controlling costs, are important – so much so that President Obama should focus on those goals simultaneously.
The survey found industry professionals were most concerned about expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program – which 83 percent of respondents said was absolutely essential or very important; using the economic stimulus to invest in health information technology (78 percent); and providing public health insurance to the long-term unemployed (72 percent).
Respondents were overwhelmingly in favor of using a health insurance exchange to provide coverage for the uninsured (92 percent). They also favored expanding eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP (89 percent), and recognized such a move was a high priority and should be addressed before other reforms (82 percent), such as funding health information technology (76 percent).
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Respondents showed wide support for Obama's reforms:
- 86 percent support implementing federal insurance market rules such as guaranteed issue and community rating that would help ensure access to affordable coverage for those with health conditions.
- 81 percent support an employer "play or pay" requirement for employers to either offer coverage or pay a percent of payroll to help finance expanded coverage.
- 71 percent said allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, increasing the number of primary care providers, and moving away from fee-for-service toward global fees or episode of care payments would be effective or very effective ways to control costs.
- 60 percent said that COBRA premium assistance for recently unemployed workers was a very important or absolutely essential feature of an economic stimulus package; 35 percent felt the same way about increased NIH funding.
The survey was conducted online between Dec. 1, 2008, and Jan. 2, 2009 by Harris Interactive among 194 opinion leaders in health policy and innovators in health care delivery and finance within the United States.
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