Americans are more concerned about access to and the cost of prescription drugs than they are about the dynamics of health insurance networks and transparency in medical care pricing, a survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation reported.
The foundation surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. adults, asking them targeted questions related to health insurance and medical care.
Three quarters selected access to specialty drugs for chronic conditions (HIV, hepatitis, diabetes) as their top health priority, followed by the expectation that the government would take action to bring down the cost of these powerful new treatments (63 percent).
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Ensuring that health plan networks offer "sufficient provider networks of doctors and hospitals" was in third place at 58 percent, followed closely by pricing transparency (56 percent) and unexpectedly high service charges from an out-of-network practitioner offering care in a network facility (56 percent).
The survey results revealed that the American public is gradually educating itself about the availability and cost of prescription drugs. For instance, respondents reported being aware of the billions spent on drug advertising by Big Pharma, which many felt should be reined in. Respondents said they pay attention to emerging drugs for chronic disorders and often discuss such drugs with their physicians. Most felt the government should do more to regulate the development and approval of new drugs.
When it came to assessing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 37 percent said it should be repealed, with 58 percent of self-identifying Republicans calling for repeal, and 28 percent of Democrats. Overall, the Act's "favorability" rating continues to chart a middling course, with 42 percent favoring and 42 percent opposed.
Workers with employer coverage understand that cost-shifting is happening, partly as a result of the Act, but they don't think it'll hit them in their paychecks. Asked whether a redesigned health plan with more costs borne by the employee would affect wages, 76 percent said they didn't think it would, and 20 percent said they thought it might lead to a wage increase.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
