WASHINGTON – A new Kaiser Family Foundation election-season poll has found that Americans are having significant financial problems in connection with the recent economic downturn.
Fifty-nine percent of those responding reported a “serious problem” with one of seven major financial issues, and one in four saying paying for health care is a serious problem.
The two biggest problems cited were paying for gas (43 percent), followed by getting a good-paying job or a raise (27 percent); paying for health care ranked third (25 percent), followed by paying for food (19 percent), dealing with credit card or other personal debt (16 percent), losing money in the stock market (15 percent) and paying their rent or mortgage (14 percent).
Regarding health care, growing out-of-pocket costs are of particular concern, with 47 percent of voters polled saying they are worried about them. Only 19 percent, however, said they are most concerned about increases in how much the nation as a whole spends on health care; 14 percent cited spending increases on public health insurance programs as their biggest concern, and 10 percent cited employer costs for health insurance as their biggest worry.
“The standard that most voters will use to gauge health reform proposals is, ‘Will it make health care more affordable for me?’ ” said Drew Altman, Kaiser’s president and CEO, in a news release.
The June poll, the eighth in a series, also asked voters about potential elements of health reform, including the idea of moving away from the employer-sponsored health insurance system. Only 17 percent of those with employer coverage said they would rather buy insurance on their own, while 39 percent said they prefer to get it through their employer, and 43 percent said it doesn’t make much difference to them.
Asked how buying coverage individually might affect them, 81 percent said it would be more difficult to get a good price; 80 percent said it would be harder to find or keep insurance if they were sick; 64 percent said it would be harder in terms of signing up for policies and filing claims; and 63 percent said it would be harder to find a plan that matches their needs.
The poll also explored the issue of how the cost of caring for the sick should be shared, noting that Republican policymakers generally favor less insurance regulation and the possibility of high-risk pools for the sick, while Democrats tend to favor requiring insurers to cover everyone and to limit how much sicker people can be charged.
Overall, 59 percent of voters said costs should be shared across a broad insurance risk pool, while 32 percent said that healthier people should not be asked to pay more to subsidize sicker people.
The Kaiser Family Foundation poll involved a sample of 1,206 adults, including 1,066 who said they are registered to vote, who were interviewed by phone between June 3 and 8. The full results are available at Kaiser Family Foundation.
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