Insurance group study outlines voters’ health care concerns

Michelle Swafford

Monday, Nov. 8, 2004 | 10:54 a.m.

The affordability and accessibility of health care coverage are growing concerns for Americans and voters in the 2004 presidential election want reform, a survey released Friday says.

America's Health Insurance Plans, a Washington-based trade group, said that nearly eight out of 10 voters in the recent election thought health care issues were very important and they cited medical malpractice, fewer mandated insurance benefits and quality initiatives as being top priorities.

"They say the system has fundamental challenges, and we couldn't agree more," AHIP President and Chief Executive Karen Ignagni said in a conference call. "They want lower costs, higher quality, greater access and more choices. The political process has put these goals aside. It's time to find these goals again."

The survey questioned 1,000 people and was conducted by Ayres McHenry & Associates Inc. in Alexandria, Va.

Fewer than 20 percent of those surveyed said the health care system works well, while 48 percent said parts of the system are broken and 34 percent said the entire system is broken, said Whit Ayres, principal of Ayres McHenry.

Nearly 70 percent of respondents said the nation should focus on making health care better and more affordable before worrying about the uninsured. Although the survey respondents did not say how the system should be fixed, they did overwhelmingly favor many of the suggestions posed in the survey questions.

"Part of the issue might be the perception that if you have better care that is more affordable more people would be able to afford it," said Deborah Ballard-Reisch, professor in the UNR school of public health and director of the master's in public health program.

"There are many employers that hire employees part time because insurance costs are so prohibitive," she added.

Survey respondents said they want fewer mandated health benefits because they increase health premiums and limit choice.

"People want choices and they want to have the option to choose a lower cost policy that covers fewer services," Ayres said of the 54 percent who thought mandates were a bad idea.

In Nevada, there are nearly 30 mandated benefits that range from maternity care to colorectal cancer screenings.

Medical malpractice reform is another area respondents said they want addressed. About 56 percent of respondents said the current medical malpractice system is defective and encourages lawsuits, Ayres said.

Respondents also said they favor a quick appeals process versus a court hearing when they have insurance coverage disputes, and they want Medicare recipients to have the same choices as other insured people.

"There's a great deal we have to do," Ballard-Reisch said. "There has been double-digit medical inflation for years and it doesn't look that it will slow down. The biggest contributor to that are prescription drug costs."

"It will remain to be seen whether some of the things that have been proposed in Congress actually get out," Ballard-Reisch said.

Larry Hurst, president of the Clark County Association of Health Underwriters and government affairs director for NevadaCare Inc. and Summerlin Life & Health Insurance Co., said there are several proposals and new laws that can address the concerns of rising health care costs and access to health coverage.

For example, health savings accounts were created, which allows employees to put away tax-free money for health care costs. The accounts enable employees to pay for health, dental and vision costs and generally operate in conjunction with a high-deductible insurance plan to cover catastrophic problems.

"HSAs are going to open the door to a lot more products that are affordable for employers to offer to their employees," Hurst said.

Also, Congress is starting to consider tax credits, which would "extend affordable health insurance coverage to the uninsured who are employed and their employers can't afford it," Hurst said.

The Clark County Association of Health Underwriters is trying to get a high-risk pool in Nevada that would provide a health plan option for those who are uninsurable through regular plans, Hurst said, adding that 33 other states have them.

"Uninsured patients leave a hefty burden on the hospitals when they go to emergency rooms," Hurst said. "It's kind of like a silent tax on the private health insurance market. Insurers pay for it through their contracts. Employers pay for it through premiums."