Majority in U.S. Still Satisfied With Own Healthcare Costs

PRINCETON, NJ -- Fifty-nine percent of Americans are satisfied with the total cost they pay for healthcare, precisely in the middle of the 54% to 64% range in satisfaction Gallup has found since 2001.

However, the general stability in overall satisfaction masks a growing gap in satisfaction between Medicaid or Medicare recipients and those who are privately insured. Medicaid and Medicare recipients' satisfaction with what they pay for healthcare has risen to a new high the last two years, at 76%, while those who have private insurance have become slightly less satisfied, at 57%. As a result, there is now a 19-percentage-point gap in the two groups' satisfaction -- contrasted with minimal gaps from 2004 to 2010 and essentially no gap from 2001 to 2003.

The results are based on Gallup's annual Health and Healthcare poll, conducted Nov. 15-18.

Most Privately Insured Contribute to Premiums, Say Costs Are Rising

The changing landscape of health insurance in recent decades could be affecting privately insured Americans' satisfaction with their health costs. The vast majority (64%) of Americans with private insurance now say their health premiums costs are shared. This is up from 54% in 2001. While the 22% saying they personally pay the entire cost has not changed appreciably, the 10% saying their employer pays the entire cost is down by more than half from 2001.

The percentage sharing costs has appeared to level off after increasing near the beginning of the last decade.

A high percentage of Americans who pay all or part of their health insurance premiums have consistently said throughout the past decade that their health insurance costs have increased in the past year. Currently, 71% say their costs have gone up in the past year, including 29% who say their costs have increased a lot. Meanwhile, 22% say their cost share has not changed, while 5% report a decrease.

Since Gallup first asked the question in 2003, at least 69% Americans paying their health premiums say their personal share has increased.

A major development in the U.S. healthcare system has yet to fully take effect, the implementation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. It is not yet clear what impact the law is having, or will have, on Americans' attitudes about their own healthcare. However, Medicaid and Medicare recipients' satisfaction with what they pay has increased slightly since the bill passed in 2010, averaging 73%, compared with 67% from 2001 to 2009.

Implications

Despite years of rising costs and the uncertainty about the effects of the 2010 health reforms on patient costs, Americans remain largely satisfied with what they personally pay for healthcare. That is in stark contrast to their widespread dissatisfaction -- 77% are dissatisfied -- with the cost of healthcare in the U.S. more broadly.

There is a widening gap in satisfaction with personal health costs among those who receive their insurance from the federal government in the form of Medicare or Medicaid and those who are privately insured. Though a majority of both groups remain satisfied, Medicaid and Medicare recipients' satisfaction with their costs is reaching new heights, while privately insured Americans' satisfaction is declining.

If this pattern persists, U.S. adults' overall satisfaction with what they pay for healthcare could stay steady or even rise as more Americans qualify for Medicare and Medicaid. This would include the millions of baby boomers who will reach the qualifying age for Medicare in the coming years and others who will become eligible for Medicaid as the 2010 health law increases the qualifying income level.

As such, it will be important for private insurers to attempt to narrow the emerging gap in satisfaction with health costs to remain an appealing option for those who have the option to choose which type of healthcare coverage to use.