Health Care Is Unaffordable For Half the Country; Consumers & Physicians Agree On Why

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Consumers and physicians alike blame insurance companies, drug companies and medical device manufacturers for rising health care costs, according to results of a new nationwide survey produced by the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute in Houston.

The study also found that both consumers and physicians agree that the most effective ways to reduce health care costs are to increase costs for those with poor health habits, and for insurers to offer affordable catastrophic health insurance plans.

"It's heartening to see physicians and consumers agree that people should take more responsibility for their health, and a new kind of insurance product should be examined closely," said Dr. Arthur "Tim" Garson, Jr., director of the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute.

"The Nation's Pulse: The Texas Medical Center's Consumer & Physician Survey" questioned more than 9,000 consumers across 15 states, as well as 450 physicians nationwide. Consumers were surveyed in five red states (Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Texas and Tennessee), five blue states (California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Washington) and five swing states (Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania).

Consumers and physicians agree on why costs are rising and how to fix it

Forty-seven percent of physicians surveyed blamed insurance companies for rising health care costs, compared to 28 percent of consumers. Nineteen percent of physicians and 30 percent of consumers blamed drug and device manufactures for rising costs. However, relatively few respondents from both categories blamed hospitals or physicians.

"It's interesting that both groups blame insurers for high costs because doctors and hospitals - not insurance companies - are the ones sending the bills," said Garson, a cardiologist and former medical school dean.

Consumers and doctors were also largely in agreement on which reforms were most likely to decrease health care costs. The leading solution from both groups was to increase costs for smokers and obese people via higher health insurance costs and taxes on unhealthy food. Forty percent of physicians and 28 percent of consumers believed that is the most likely way to reduce health care costs. Twenty-three percent of doctors and 23 percent of consumers surveyed believe the creation of affordable catastrophic health care plans would be the most likely way to reduce health care costs.

A catastrophic health care plan could be offered at an affordable price and primarily offer coverage for only the most critical situations such as accidents, pregnancy and major illness, Garson said.

Consumers value health insurance, and they struggle with affordability

The study also revealed that 98 percent of consumers surveyed consider health insurance important to them and their families.

"Americans are more united on this issue than our federal policymakers might realize," Garson said.

The surveys were conducted over the summer as the U.S. Senate debated - and ultimately failed to pass - legislation that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

The responses indicate many Americans consider their health care costs unaffordable. For example, 49 percent of consumers surveyed say they're forced to cut back on spending in other areas in order to pay for their health care.

"Health care continues to be unaffordable for half the country," Garson said. "American families are desperate for relief, and our leaders need to seriously consider strategies to reduce the growing cost of health care."

The majority of the uninsured consumers surveyed - regardless of income - said they consider spending 2 percent of their income on health care to be affordable. The Affordable Care Act's individual mandate requires people to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. Those who lack access to "affordable" coverage under that law are exempt from that penalty. But under ACA, coverage is only considered "affordable" if it doesn't cost more than 8.2 percent of income.

"The survey findings are significant, since they show the public's view of what's affordable is vastly different from lawmakers' view of affordability," Garson said.

Keywords for this news article include: Hospital, Legislation, Cardio Device, Health Policy, Medical Devices, Health Insurance, Texas Medical Center.

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