A new Gallup poll finds American’ rating of quality of health care in the United States is at its lowest in 24 years. And findings from a new Commonwealth Fund survey indicate more older Americans are more likely to postpone or skip needed care because of costs.
Cost and access to care are the most urgent health problems facing the country, according to Gallup’s annual health and health care poll. Results are based on telephone interviews conducted November 6-24 with a random sample of 1,001 adults, over the age of 18 who live in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The Gallup survey found:
- More than half say the quality of health care in the country is only fair (38 percent) or poor (16 percent). It’s the lowest rating of quality since 2001.
- Americans rate health care coverage in the U.S. worse than they rate quality. Only 28 percent say coverage is excellent or good.
- Only 19 percent are satisfied with the cost of care.
- Fifty-four percent say the overall health care system has major problems or is in a state of crisis (16 percent).
- However, 71 percent of U.S. adults rank the quality of health care they receive to be excellent or good.
- Sixty-two percent of U.S. adults say it’s the federal government’s responsibility to ensure all Americans have health care coverage.
- Forty-six percent believe it should be a government-run system and 49 percent support a system based on private health insurance.
- Fifty-four percent of U.S. adults approve of the Affordable Care Act.
Meanwhile, a new international survey conducted by The Commonwealth Fund finds older adults in the U.S. struggle with health care costs more than those in other nations.
The survey, conducted from February 29 to June 20, was based on telephone interviews with 16, 737 adults age 65 and older in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. For the analysis, The Commonwealth Fund interviewed 1,882 adults in the United States who had either traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage.
Key findings include:
- Nearly one in four older adults in the U.S. spent at least $2,000 out of pocket on health care last year. Less than five percent of older adults in France and the Netherlands spent that much. Switzerland was the only survey country where older adults reported spending more.
- Less than 10 percent of older adults across countries reported skipping needed care or forgoing medical treatment because of costs. Older Americans did so at the highest rate. One third of older U.S. adults facing cost-related barriers reported being in fair or poor health.
- One in five older adults in the U.S., Australia, and Canada skipped needed dental care because of costs. By comparison, five percent or fewer of older adults in the Netherlands and Germany went without dental care.
Study author Munira Z. Gunja, senior researcher for International Health Policy and Practice Innovations for The Commonwealth Fund, said that the findings show that Medicare has room for improvement.
“Even though nearly all older adults in the United States are covered by Medicare, this study highlights areas where the program has room to improve. In some countries, almost no older adults are skipping or delaying care because of the cost,” Gunja said. “The U.S. can look abroad for innovative solutions to protect this age group from high health care costs, such as capping out-of-pocket expenses and fully covering hospital and physician services. Medicare was created to ensure older Americans can get the care they need and afford to stay healthy, and it’s critical that we uphold that promise to them.”