JustCare

Tag: Poll

  • Poll: Many more older adults delayed care because of cost in 2022

    Poll: Many more older adults delayed care because of cost in 2022

    Nearly four in ten Americans reported that they or a family member delayed health care last year because of the cost. That’s an all-time high and a huge increase from the year before. Even with Medicare, many more older adults also report delaying care.

    The Gallup poll shows a 12 percent increase in Americans skipping health care in 2022 from 2021. There was no change in people’s response to the question of whether they or a family skipped care between 2020 and 2021. But, 2022 was  a year of tremendous inflation, which has made life even more difficulty for most adults.

    Even more troubling is that Americans reported that they or their family members often delayed treatment for serious conditions in 2022. Of the 38 percent who reported delays in care, 27 percent said that the delays were for very serious or somewhat serious treatments.

    Not surprisingly, people with annual incomes under $40,000 were more likely to say that they or a family member had delayed care for a serious health condition (34 percent) than people with incomes above $100,000 (18 percent). And, 12 percent more people with lower incomes delayed care for serious conditions in 2022 than in 2021. People with incomes between $40,000 and $100,000 delayed care almost as much as people with incomes under $40,000 (29 percent).

    Women and younger adults also were more likely to report delays in getting medical treatments for serious conditions for themselves and family members. Almost one in three women (32 percent) reported delaying care in sharp contrast to one in five men. That’s an increase of 12 percentage points for women in just one year.

    About one in eight (13 percent) people with Medicare reported delaying care in 2022. That’s nearly double– a six percent increase–those reporting delays in care just a year earlier. Still, people with Medicare were less likely to report delaying care because of cost than working people and young adults.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Americans want health care system overhaul

    Americans want health care system overhaul

    A new survey of Americans finds utter and complete dissatisfaction with our health care system, reports Amanda Seitz for AP News. Nearly nine in ten Americans say that health care is not handled well or extremely well, including health care for older adults. Most Americans want Congress to overhaul our health care system and think Medicare and Medicaid should be expanded to cover long-term care. They want guaranteed access to care.

    The Associated Press/NORC poll finds that more than half of Americans think the US is not handling health care too well or well at all. Just slightly more than three in ten Americans, 32 percent, think the US handles health care somewhat well. Only 11 percent believe that the US is handling health care for older adults very well or extremely well.

    On top of the dissatisfaction with our health care system writ large, almost 80 percent of Americans worry to some degree about being able to get the care they need when they need it. As it is, tens of millions of Americans are forced to choose between health care and other basic necessities, forcing many of them to forego critical health care.

    As for the cost of prescription drugs, more than nine in ten Americans believe our government is not handling this issue appropriately. How could they? Drug companies are raking in mega profits as millions of Americans die because they can’t afford their medicines. And, though millions of Americans import low-cost drugs from abroad, they are technically forbidden from doing so, even when it could save their lives. Prices abroad can be 90 percent less than in the US.

    What’s the solution? Most Americans–two-thirds–want the federal government to step in and ensure access to care for all Americans. Support for the federal government to step in has grown significantly in the last five years. In 2019, 57 percent thought guaranteeing health care was a government responsibility. In 2017, 52 percent thought so.

    Of course, the simple most cost-effective solution would be for the federal government to negotiate fair prices for health care services, as every other country does, and expand traditional Medicare to everyone. But, only four in ten people polled in this survey supported this solution.

    A majority of people like the idea of a “public option,” allowing people to choose to buy health insurance administered through the government. I once liked it as well…until I came to appreciate how powerful and influential the corporate health insurers are in undermining the public option. We see it today with Medicare Advantage, which is corporate health insurance that has been killing traditional Medicare. Corporate health insurers market and design health plans to attract the healthy, make it difficult for many people to get costly and complex care, and encourage the people with the greatest health care needs to use the public option.

    People too often don’t appreciate that they could get diagnosed with a costly and complex disease or to suffer a major accident in the unforeseeable future. Anything short of comprehensive coverage–one policy that will meet whatever needs you have from whichever physicians you need to see–is a gamble.

    One study, published in June in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, found that Medicare for all would have likely saved 338,000 lives lost to Covid-19.

    As Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal tweeted last week, “In the richest country in the world, no one should die or go into debt just because they don’t have access to healthcare.” “We need Medicare for All now.”

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Nearly 100 million Americans are now struggling to afford healthcare

    Nearly 100 million Americans are now struggling to afford healthcare

    Dan Witter reports for Gallup on the horrifying situation facing nearly 100 million Americans forced to choose between their health care and other basic needs.  The latest Gallup poll from June 2022 shows that almost four in 10 Americans had to skip or postpone health care, forgo other basic needs, or borrow money to pay for their health care. 

    The poll data indicate that more than one in four (26 percent) Americans are skipping care or delaying care because of the cost. We already know from prior research that thousands of older adults with Medicare end up dying because they cannot afford the out-of-pocket costs of their heart and other critical medicines. Just a $10.40 copay increase leads them to stop filling their prescriptions. 

    People with low incomes struggle most to pay for their care. More than half of households with annual incomes below $48,000 had to forgo some basic necessities in order to afford their care. And, 43 percent of adults with annual incomes under $24,000 skipped a medical procedure or did not fill a prescription because of the cost, in the six months preceding the poll.

    Wealthy Americans are far from immune from the burden of high health care costs. Nearly one in five households with annual incomes of $180,000 or higher are having to forgo spending on other basic needs to pay for their health care.

    Women fare worse than men paying for health care. About 30 percent of women have had to skip or delay health care because of the cost. But, many men are not prepared for these costs either. About 22 percent report struggling with health care costs.

    Women, particularly those younger than 50, are disproportionately being compelled to cut back on health care due to its rising costs. Three in 10 women overall (30%) report having done so, compared with 22% of men — and this percentage swells to 36% among women under 50.

    Skipping health care often comes in conjunction with people spending less on utilities and food. And 60 percent of people who borrowed money to cover necessities also skipped or delayed health care. 

    As difficult as it is for people to pay for needed health care, the poll data shows that, right now, people are most worried about the cost of gasoline (43 percent) and food (34 percent). Only 3 percent of respondents put health care at the top of the list. 

    Of note, Democrats (33 percent) are less concerned than Republicans and Independents (43 percent) about rising health care costs. People of color are more concerned than white adults. 

    Lastly, people hold little hope that either the federal government or their state government will keep costs down. Nearly six in ten Americans are “not at all confident” their representatives in Congress will help them.  

    Most Americans are aware that health care costs continue to increase at a rapid rate. At the moment, increases are not as fast as other sectors. But, that is likely based on pre-negotiated rates established for 2023, pre-inflation, and is likely to change.

    JAMA reported that drug launch prices are up 20 percent a year in the 13 years between 2008 and 2021. In effect, they are ten times higher!!!

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Poll: More than 75 percent of Americans support strengthening Social Security

    Poll: More than 75 percent of Americans support strengthening Social Security

    Most Americans love Social Security. It is a national treasure that, increasingly, millions of older and disabled Americans and their families depend upon. A new poll from Data for Progress shows that more than eight in ten Americans are somewhat or very concerned that Social Security will not be able to pay out its full benefits. Not surprisingly, more than three in four Americans across the political spectrum strongly or somewhat support raising taxes on Americans earning more than $400,000 annually to pay for expanding and strengthening Social Security.

    Social Security is government-required savings–an earned benefit supported through payroll contributions during your working life, which helps guarantee financial security during your retirement years and in other special situations, including long-term disability. Much like life insurance, you pay in, and it pays out.

    Unlike other government benefits, Social Security pays for itself, including the cost of its administration. But, Republicans have tried to cripple Social Security when in power, for example, refusing to take money from its Trust Fund to cover the full cost of staff and local offices. Without enough funding, it becomes difficult for people to get their Social Security benefits.

    Right now, Democrats in Congress want to expand Social Security, so that its benefits keep pace with cost of living increases. They want to raise taxes on the wealthy to make sure that Social Security continues to have the funding it needs to pay out full benefits for the next several decades.

    Voters overwhelmingly prefer that Social Security benefits be expanded and that wealthy Americans contribute their fair share to ensure Social Security’s solvency. And, even though Social Security’s Trust Fund is designated exclusively for Social Security, Republicans want to raid the Social Security Trust Fund  to fund their initiatives.

    Marco Rubio is proposing to cut Social Security benefits in retirement in order to fund people’s parental leave, through his Providing for Life Act. His proposal would jeopardize people’s retirement security. Moreover, if the parent who took paid parental leave died before she became eligible for Social Security, the government would be able to claw back the parental leave payment from her family.

    Americans are already struggling in retirement, with few retirement savings. Social Security is their lifeline. Costs are only rising. Rubio’s proposal jeopardizes people’s situation, reducing the amount of money they would be able to count on in retirement.

    In 2005, under President George W. Bush, Republicans tried but failed to privatize Social Security. They know that Americans depend on it. Once again, they are trying to find a way to destroy its benefits, this time, by allowing people to take its benefits upfront. But, when Americans retire, Social Security would offer less financial security. If Republicans care about paid parental leave, they should pay for it through higher taxes on the wealthy or through an additional payroll contribution, not mess with Social Security and people’s retirement security.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Poll: More than forty percent of adults have medical debt

    Poll: More than forty percent of adults have medical debt

    The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that more than 40 percent of adults have some medical debt, and fifty percent of adults are at risk of medical debt. Whether you are insured or uninsured, you are likely to be faced with medical debt, which could force you to forgo or delay medical care and jeopardize your health. [This Just Care post offers some ways to avoid medical debt.]

    On top of the 41 percent of adults with medical debt–including unpaid bills from doctors, dentists, hospitals and other health care providers–another 16 percent had medical debt that they were able to pay off in the past five years. About 20 percent of people with medical debt today say that they will never be able to pay that debt back. Only 33 percent of people with medical debt expect to be able to pay it back within a year.

    Because of the way the US health care system works, it is nearly impossible to budget for your health care costs. Copays tend not to be fixed and, even when they are, there is virtually no controlling the number and types of services providers deliver in most instances. Of course, each comes with its own copay.

    Health care debt can take a huge toll on people’s savings. More than forty percent of adults with debt say that they have used all or most of their savings to pay off their debt. Others say that in order to pay off their debt, they had to stop paying other bills, skip going to college, or move out of their home.

    Debt can take a toll on people’s credit rating, for example, keeping them from being able to buy a car or a home. As of July 2022, if you have fully paid off your medical debt, it will be removed from your credit report. Of course, that’s no help if you haven’t been able to fully pay off this debt.

    Moreover, the poll finds that people with medical debt can struggle to get medical care. Fourteen percent of them can’t get a doctor to treat them. People postpone care or skip it altogether at twice the rate of people without medical debt.

    People with low incomes and Black Americans are more likely to have to deal with collection agencies regarding their debt. They are also more likely to struggle to find a doctor to provide them needed care. And, they are also more often forced to switch residences to afford their housing costs and unburden themselves from medical debt.

    That said, more than one in four people with annual incomes over $90,000 (26 percent) have medical debt. Another 19 percent of them had medical debt in the last five years.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Poll: Prescription drug prices in 2022

    Poll: Prescription drug prices in 2022

    The Kaiser Family Foundation recently polled Americans for their views on prescription drug prices. Here’s what they learned:

    What proportion of the US population takes prescription drugs?

    • Most Americans–62 percent–take at least one prescription drug.
    • One in four Americans take at least four prescription drugs.
    • More than eight in 10 (83 percent) Americans say prescription drug costs are unreasonable.
    • Nearly seven in 10 (69 percent) Americans who take prescription drugs say that they have no trouble affording them.

    Are prescription drugs affordable?

    A recent report in NBER found that thousands of people with Medicare die of stroke, heart attacks and other diagnoses each year because they stop filling their prescriptions when the copays rise as little as $10.40.

    • Affordability of prescription drugs is harder for people who are taking four or more medicines.
    • Nearly one in three people (32 percent) who take four or more medicines struggle to pay for their prescription drugs.
    • Only about 2o percent of people who take up to three prescriptions struggle to pay for them.
    • At least a third of people with yearly incomes under $40,000 (35 percent) and people with chronic conditions (33 percent) also have more difficulty affording their prescription drugs.
    • One in five people over 65 (2o percent) say they struggle to afford their prescription drugs.

    How many people do not fill their prescriptions because of the cost? 

    • Three in ten people did not fill all their prescriptions in the last year, as a result of the cost.
    • One in six (16 percent) did not fill a prescription for a specific drug because of the cost.
    • More than one in five (22 percent) substituted a non-prescription drug for their prescription.
    • More than one in eight (13 percent) cut their pills in half or skipped doses.

    Do people understand that drug company profits are the largest reason for high costs in the US?

    • The overwhelming majority of the public (82 percent) understands that pharmaceutical company profits are the largest reason drug prices are so high.
    • Nearly seven in ten people (68 percent) wrongly believe that research and development costs are responsible for high drug prices.
    • More than half of people (52 percent) mistakenly think that marketing and advertising drive drug prices as high as they are.

    Most Americans would like to see more drug price regulation, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

    What drug price proposals do Americans favor?

    • Nearly nine in ten Americans (88 percent) would like it to be easier for generics to come to market.
    • Nearly nine in ten Americans (88 percent) would like Congress to limit drug price increases to the rate of inflation (which does nothing to keep the launch price of a drug reasonable.)
    • Eighty-five percent would like Medicare to limit out-of-pocket drug costs (which does nothing to lower drug costs, gives drug companies greater freedom to raise prices since people don’t directly feel the increase, and allows insurers to shift drug costs to everyone through higher premiums and other out-of-pocket costs.)
    • More than eight in ten Americans (83 percent) would like the government to regulate drug prices.
    • Nearly eight in ten Americans (78 percent) support legalizing drug imports from Canada (though there is no reason not to open the borders to drugs from verified pharmacies around the world.)

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • 2022: Health care costs remain a top policy priority

    2022: Health care costs remain a top policy priority

    A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds that Americans continue to see their health care costs as a top policy priority for Congress. Health care prices and unexpected medical bills are a major concern. Slightly more than half of Americans polled say they have delayed or gone without health care in the last 12 months because of the cost.

    When it comes to household expenses, one in four Americans are very worried about facing unexpected health care bills. Health care costs are their top household expense worry after gasoline and transportation costs, which 40 percent of Americans are very worried about. Nearly six in ten Americans (58 percent) are very worried or somewhat worried about facing unexpected medical bills.

    What types of health care have people foregone? More than a third of Americans (35 percent) went without dental care in the last 12 months because of the cost. One in four went without eye care (25 percent) or a visit to the doctor (24 percent). About one in six (18 percent) went without mental health care and about one in seven (14 percent) went without hospital care.

    How do Americans want Congress to address these issues? Most of the poll answers focused on people’s out-of-pocket costs and not on health care prices. Americans seem to be more focused on having Congress limit what they pay for their care than on regulating prices. What they might not appreciate is that the money to cover limits on their costs is going to have to come from somewhere. Would they want the money to come from higher taxes, or do they also support price regulation?

    The public wants Congress to prioritize a limit on prescription drug price increases to the rate of inflation (61 percent) over regulation of drug prices (48 percent) for working people. Do Americans understand that a limit on drug price increases does not preclude the introductory price of a drug from being through the roof?

    The public overwhelmingly supports drug price negotiation for people with Medicare; 98 percent of Democrats and 84 percent of Republicans see it as a top priority.

    The public also supports out-of-pocket drug caps and caps on insulin costs as a top priority for lawmakers. But, at what cost to them? Those caps are likely to drive up overall health insurance premiums considerably if they are not combined with drug price regulation.

    The public feels less strongly that policymakers continue to fund COVID-related health care costs. Only about one in four Americans believe Congressional investments in COVID health care should be a top priority.

    Views of the Affordable Care Act are split along party lines. Nearly nine in ten (87 percent) Democrats see the ACA favorably, with more than four in ten of them (43 percent) saying the ACA helped them and their families. In sharp contrast, nearly eight in ten (79 percent) Republicans view the ACA unfavorably, with four in ten saying it hurt them and their families.

    Overall, Americans have a negative view of long-term care facilities’ staffing levels, fees and care quality. The 25 percent of Americans with some direct familiarity with long-term care facilities have even stronger negative views of them.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Medical debt on the rise

    Medical debt on the rise

    New research from the Peterson Center on Health Care and the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Americans are now holding at least $195 billion in medical debt. Nine in ten of them have health insurance. Emergency care, COVID-19 care and mental health care are the three biggest causes.

    Three million Americans owe more than $10,000 in medical debt, and 16 million Americans owe more than $1,000. Not surprisingly, the most vulnerable Americans face the greatest debt. Researchers say that “Medical debt can happen to almost anyone in the United States, but this debt is most pronounced among people who are already struggling with poor health, financial insecurity, or both,”

    In a separate survey of 1,250 people, researchers found that more than half (55 percent) say they have some medical debt. And, almost half of these people report not being able to purchase a home or put money aside for retirement as a result.

    Nearly seven in 10 people (69 percent) who purchase their own health insurance have medical debt and just over six in ten (61 percent) who have employer coverage have medical debt. Just under six in ten (59 percent) without health insurance report having medical debt.

    People with health insurance appear to have the same rate of medical debt as people without health insurance. But having health insurance limits the amount of debt people have. Health insurance deductibles have sky-rocketed over the last several years, presenting a barrier to care for many Americans. They are also a driver of medical debt.

    Employer plan deductibles average $1,669 in 2022 for people who work for large employers. People working in companies with fewer than 200 workers face even higher average deductibles, $2,379. And, individuals with state health insurance exchange plans and no subsidies faced average deductibles of $4,364 in 2020.

    Total average out-of-pocket costs for health care are now $12,530. That includes premiums, deductibles and copays. And, it represents about 20 percent of the typical person’s annual income, $67,521 in 2020.

    People not yet eligible for Medicare, with incomes between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level, are entitled to subsidies on health insurance through the state health insurance exchanges, which can bring down their health care costs significantly. People with Medicare with low incomes are also eligible for government assistance paying premiums, deductibles and coinsurance, through Medicaid and Medicare Savings Programs.

    To minimize your costs, plan ahead. If you have Medicare, to save money, make sure you have the number of the local ambulance that takes Medicare on your phone and your refrigerator. If you’re in a Medicare Advantage plan, have the number of an in-network ambulance.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • More than one in four older adults skip care because of cost

    More than one in four older adults skip care because of cost

    In two separate surveys, one of older adults and one of their caregivers, Fair Health looked at whether costs were impeding access to care for older adults and how much older adults know about their health care costs before receiving care. Their survey finds that more than one in four people with Medicare skipped care because of the cost.

    A majority of older adults say that they think cost is a key consideration when deciding whether to get care and what care to get. (Only one in four older adults do not think about out-of-pocket costs.) But more than one in three of them (35 percent) struggle to get information on their costs.

    The survey also found that nearly one in three older adults do not engage in shared decision-making about their care with their physicians and other healthcare providers. That said, almost one in two older adults (45 percent) would like to engage in shared decision-making conversations with their physicians.

    Because many older adults cannot get information upfront on healthcare costs, a sizable portion of them (27 percent) say it often keeps them from getting care. Overall, more than one in four older adults skipped care because of the cost. And just less than one in three older adults with household incomes under $50,000 said they skipped care because of the cost.

    People living in households with higher incomes skipped care less often. About one in five older adults in households with incomes over $50,000 and under $100,000 skipped care. About one in six older adults in households with incomes over $100,000 skipped care.

    These survey findings suggest that Medicare does a somewhat better job than corporate health insurance at covering costs. A recent survey found that costs were a barrier to care for one in three Americans of all ages.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Prior authorization in Medicare Advantage harms patients, sometimes severely

    Prior authorization in Medicare Advantage harms patients, sometimes severely

    MedPage Today reports on a poll finding that prior authorization requirements in managed care plans, such as Medicare Advantage, lead to patients needing hospitalization, becoming disabled or dying, according to one in three physicians. Why does Medicare allow prior authorization–with its often unjustified barriers to care–in Medicare Advantage plans?

    No one can deny that sometimes people get care that they don’t need. But, what makes health insurers able to determine what care is needed? On what do they base their decisions?

    As a general rule, health insurers are not held to account for their prior authorization policies. Yet, this AMA survey found that three in ten physicians say that health insurers rarely if ever use prior authorization criteria that is evidence-based. And, 91 percent of physicians say that insurer prior authorization criteria have a negative impact on their patients’ health outcomes.

    Almost one in five physicians (18 percent) said that an insurer’s prior authorization requirement resulted in a life-threatening event for a patient or a health outcome that “required intervention to prevent permanent impairment or damage.” On top of that one in 12 physicians said that their patients became disabled or physically harmed or died as a result of prior authorization requirements.

    Congresswoman Suzan DelBene of Washington State has a bill, Improving Seniors” Timely Access to Care Act, intended to standardize prior authorization programs in Medicare Advantage plans. It would require health plans to disclose their requirements and greater oversight of them.

    Some states limit or have introduced bills to limit insurers from using prior authorization, including New York, Texas, Illinois and Indiana.

    More than 1,000 practicing physicians completed the survey.

    Here’s more from Just Care: