4 in 5 Americans believe the Country Is Facing a Healthcare Affordability Crisis, ValuePenguin.com Survey Finds

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Approximately 82% of Americans believe that there is a healthcare crisis in the country according to a new ValuePenguin.com survey, and a further 42% believe the government is to blame for this crisis. However, how receptive is the country to the idea of universal healthcare and healthcare reform?

ValuePenguin.com surveyed Americans about their views on their current healthcare options, their views on the many proposals for single-payer healthcare, or "Medicare For All", and more importantly, what, if anything, are they willing to sacrifice for the country to move towards universal health care. The findings revealed fascinating divides across partisan lines, generations and gender, as well as the issues that all Americans align on.

Key Findings:

One In Five Americans Say Healthcare Is The Most Important Reason They Will Support A Candidate: Healthcare was the top ranking reason for presidential support among Democrats. Republicans were more likely to view the economy and immigration as more important.
70% of Americans Support Medicare For All. While nearly 70% of respondents expressed their support for Medicare for All, Millennials and Democrats were more willing to drop their current coverage and enroll in Medicare as a single-payer healthcare program. Seniors and Republicans were most likely to support a system that allowed private coverage options in addition to Medicare
Here's What Americans Will Sacrifice for Universal Healthcare: 65% of respondents say they were willing to make some sacrifices for a universal healthcare system. The most popular sacrifices were longer waits for doctors appointments, switching to another doctor, and paying higher premiums. Americans were less likely to agree to higher co-pays, traveling longer distances to see a physician or getting denied treatment altogether.
Democrats Are More Willing To Pay Higher Taxes for Universal Healthcare: Approximately half of Americans are willing to pay more in taxes for universal healthcare; however, this is heavily skewed toward Democrats. Over 66% of Democrats said they are willing to pay more, compared to only 36% of Republicans.
Republicans Less Likely To Make Sacrifices for Universal Healthcare: While the majority of respondents were willing to make small sacrifices if it meant every American would be able to obtain affordable healthcare, 47% of the surveyed Republicans say they were unwilling to make any sacrifices for a universal healthcare system, compared to 24% of the Democratic respondents.
32% of Americans Are Dissatisfied With Their Current Healthcare: And Republican respondents were more likely to be dissatisfied with their healthcare than their Democratic counterparts. Rising premiums and increasing deductibles, a fall in the quality of coverage, and the difficulty to understand what is and isn't covered by insurance were the top 3 reasons for their unhappiness.

To determine Americans' feelings toward health insurance, ValuePenguin commissioned Qualtrics to conduct an online survey of 1,155 Americans, with the sample base proportioned to represent the entire country with an even mix of political views. The survey was conducted in August 2019.

To view the full report, visit: https://www.valuepenguin.com/healthcare-affordability-crisis

About ValuePenguin.com: ValuePenguin.com, part of LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE), is a personal finance website that conducts in-depth research and provides objective analysis to help guide consumers to the best financial decisions. ValuePenguin focuses on value, assessing whether the return of a particular decision is worth the cost or risk of that option, and how this stacks up with the other possible choices they may have. For more information, please visit www.valuepenguin.com, like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @ValuePenguin.

Media Contact:

Divya Sangam (Ms.)
646 693 8445
[email protected]

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