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GOVERNMENT & MEDICINE
Poll finds voters want health care problems fixed now
A post-election poll found that voters of both parties wish Congress would resolve such issues as patients' rights and Medicare prescription drug benefits.
By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Feb. 12, 2001. Additional information
Washington -- Congress would be well advised to make some progress toward resolving contentious health care issues or run the risk of voters turning against a "do-nothing" Congress in the 2002 elections, a recent poll indicates.
Health care ranked near the top of voters' priorities for using the federal budget surplus, according to a poll of 1,052 voters conducted after last fall's elections by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University's School of Public Health. Education was the only issue that garnered more support.
But the poll results failed to provide guidance on what steps should be taken toward resolving such issues as providing a Medicare prescription drug benefit and covering more of the nation's uninsured people. Voters were divided along party lines, as is Congress, on how to proceed.
"This survey suggests that elected officials from both parties will have to compromise significantly to reach any consensus on health issues," said Drew E. Altman, PhD, president and CEO of the Kaiser foundation.
Regardless of lawmakers' differences, it will be important for voters to see that Congress is taking some action to resolve health concerns, noted Robert J. Blendon, ScD, Harvard professor of health policy. Congressional gridlock would be viewed harshly, he predicted, and incumbents likely would suffer at the voting booth during the midterm elections.
The issue that provides the most opportunity for bipartisan agreement may be patients' rights. The poll revealed that 71% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats favored passage of legislation that would give patients the right to sue their health plans.
But that support dropped to 28% for Republicans and 32% for Democrats if voters believe that such legislation would raise health insurance costs and cause some businesses to drop employee coverage. This argument has frequently been raised by health plans as a reason to block any increase in plan liability.
Agreement over a bipartisan plan to reform Medicare is likely to prove even more difficult, according to poll findings. Party divisions are already deep, and compromise will be difficult, Dr. Altman predicted.
Of voters polled, 56% said they would prefer that Medicare be expanded to pay directly for part of prescription drug costs, and 32% said they prefer that beneficiaries buy private health insurance plans to pay part of their drug costs.
When asked how Medicare could be kept financially sound, 72% of voters recommended using part of the federal surplus, 58% said they favored creating a sliding fee scale with wealthier seniors paying more, and 33% said Medicare should reduce the amount paid to doctors and hospitals.
The 33% who favored a decrease in doctor pay represent a 25% decline from the Kaiser Foundation's 1998 survey when 61% of voters recommended a fee cut, Dr. Blendon said.
The poll also found that voters support programs that provide health insurance to people between age 55 and 64 who have no coverage but are not yet eligible for Medicare. But in recent years, states have begun to expand coverage to the parents of poor children who are insured under Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Voting on health
In a poll of voters' priorities:
- 35% said they would most like to see legislation on Medicare issues, such as adding prescription drug coverage (18%) and making Medicare more financially sound (17%).
- 30% would like a bill passed to provide health insurance to people without coverage.
- 16% favor legislation that protects patients' rights in HMOs and other managed care plans.
- 14% would approve of a measure to help people defray the cost of caring for elderly or disabled relatives.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University School of Public Health Post-Election Survey
Copyright 2001 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.