2006 Health Confidence Survey:
Dissatisfaction With Health Care System Doubles Since 1998
By Ruth Helman, Mathew Greenwald & Associates, and Paul Fronstin, EBRI
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)
November 2006
Findings from the 2006 Health Confidence Survey (HCS) indicate that the public’s increasing dissatisfaction with the American health care system appears to be focused primarily on the rising cost of care. Many Americans report that rising costs have hurt their financial well-being and feel that steps should be taken to slow these increases.
The Cost of Care
More and more, people who experience an increase in health care costs report a negative effect on household finances. The majority with health coverage report they have experienced an increase in the amounts they are responsible for paying under their plan in the last year (60 percent). These Americans are more likely than in previous years to indicate the changes have caused financial difficulties. More than one-third in the 2006 HCS say they have decreased their contributions to retirement plans (36 percent, up from 25 percent in 2004), and more than one-half have decreased their contributions to other savings as a result of the cost increases (53 percent). Almost 3 in 10 indicate they have had difficulty paying for basic necessities, such as food, heat, and housing (28 percent, up from 18 percent), while nearly 4 in 10 report difficulty paying other bills (37 percent, up from 30 percent). One-third say they have used up all or most of their savings (33 percent, up from 26 percent) and more than 2 in 10 each have increased their credit card debt (22 percent) and borrowed money (21 percent, up from 15 percent).
http://www.ebri.org/pdf/notespdf/EBRI_Notes_11-20061.pdf
Comment:
By Don McCanne, MD
The opponents of reform likely will claim that the fault lies with individuals who are irresponsible in their personal financial management. They should reduce their spending on hedonistic pursuits, and use those funds more responsibly, such as the funding their retirement accounts.
With health care, the opponents will claim that patients aren’t paying enough, and that more responsible health care spending will occur only when patients are required to pay more of the costs (consumer-directed health care).
In response, we must contend with two realities: (1) Current national policies are resulting in the transfer of wealth from average-income Americans to the wealthy, and (2) health care costs are continuing to increase at a rate well in excess of inflation.
Suppressing our hedonistic inclinations will never be adequate to resolve the negative financial impact of these two realities.
Policies that create obscene wealth for the few, while threatening access to fundamental needs for the many, do not represent the values that I was taught at home, and in elementary school and Sunday School. But then those were the days when I thought that everyone received medical care when they needed it. How naive.