The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Report prepared by Public Opinion Strategies and Peter D. Hart Research Associates
July 2001
“1. Overall, seniors are VERY satisfied with the Medicare system.” “They do not want structural reform that they perceive might jeopardize what they are already getting.”
“2. The generally high levels of satisfaction have a significant impact on the way in which respondents react to words used to describe proposed ‘changes’ to the Medicare system.” “Words like ‘strengthened and improved’ elicit overwhelming favorable reactions, while words that suggest a more significant departure from the current Medicare structure, such as ‘changed’ or ‘privatized’ are very negatively perceived.”
“3. Participants suffer a severe case of sticker shock when they consider the price tag of a drug benefit program for seniors.” “Overall, participants were much more concerned with the costs to seniors than they were with the cost to the government in providing the benefit.”
“4. The budget surplus and the recent tax cut strongly influence perceptions about the affordability of a generous drug benefit.” “Given the current environment, participants do not blink at the idea of allocating significant government resources to pay for a new benefit.”
“7. Given their quite favorable views of Medicare, participants both presume and prefer that a new drug benefit would be administered within the framework of the current program.”
Comment: Americans do want a prescription benefit for Medicare. They believe that the government can afford to pay for it. But they do not believe that drug benefits should be linked to privatization schemes. The message is clear: reject the Breaux-Frist premium support proposal, and enact a bona fide, comprehensive prescription benefit. (Then we can do focus groups on providing public insurance for all of us.)