According to the Census Bureau, nearly 39 million Americans went without health coverage in 2000. And, as if there hasn't already been enough fallout and tragedy associated with Sept. 11, it may have also exacerbated the health-coverage problem. According to data from CoveringTheUninsured.org, compiled by Families USA, an estimated 2 million Americans became uninsured because of job loss in 2001. More than a quarter of this increase occurred in October. Illustrating the intensive need for adequate healthcare coverage for all Americans, Dr. Yank D. Cable Jr., president-elect of the American Medical Association, noted in amednews.com, "The hard truth is Americans without healthcare coverage live sicker and die younger … in a great nation such as ours, this is unacceptable."
It's no secret that many representatives of the medical community feel that lack of health coverage is a full-blown crisis in America today, but how do the American people feel about this issue? Gallup research shows that feelings on the importance of the health-coverage problem and what we should do about it are mixed. In 1992*, 30% of U.S. adults felt that "healthcare costs/insurance" was "the most urgent health problem facing this country at the present time." As of November 2001**, this percentage had dropped to 19%. Are Americans truly less concerned about health coverage than they were a decade ago, and if so, why?
Nearly 50% of the Population Think Healthcare System Is Seriously Ill
According to the November 2001 poll**, 5% of Americans feel the U.S. healthcare system today is in a "state of crisis" and 44% feel the system has "major problems" (see table below). These percentages may appear high, but they have actually decreased over the past year and a half. In a September 2000 Gallup poll^, 70% of Americans felt the U.S. healthcare system was either in a "state of crisis" or had "major problems."
Which of these statements do you think best describes the U.S. healthcare system today?
|
State of Crisis |
Major |
Minor |
Does Not Have Any |
No |
|
|
2001 Nov 8-11 |
5% |
44% |
47% |
2% |
2% |
|
2000 Sept 11-13 |
12 |
58 |
28 |
1 |
1 |
Slightly Fewer Americans Avoid Treatment Because of Cost
Recent polling indicates that fewer people are putting off medical treatment because of cost now than was the case a decade ago. In the November 2001 poll**, Gallup found that 19% of respondents reported they or a member of their family had put off medical treatment because of the cost they would have to pay. This is down slightly from 22% in September 2000.
Within the last twelve months, have you or a member of your family put off any sort of medical treatment because of the cost you would have to pay?
|
Yes |
No |
No Opinion |
||||
|
2001 Nov 8-11 |
19% |
81% |
* |
|||
|
2000 Sept 11-13 |
22 |
77 |
1 |
|||
|
* |
Less than 0.5% |
|||||
Americans Have Mixed Feelings on Who Is Responsible for Healthcare Coverage
According to the November 2001 poll^, more than three in five Americans (62%) feel it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage (see chart at top of page). This percentage increased slightly from 59% in January 2000. However, when asked in a separate question if they support "replacing the current healthcare system with a new government-run healthcare system" or "maintaining the current system based mostly on private health insurance", 61% of Americans support maintaining the current system.
Key Points
While Americans are hesitant to declare that the U.S. healthcare system is in a state of crisis, they do feel strongly that the system has significant problems. Overall concern for the healthcare system appears to have decreased in the past year while the number of uninsured has risen, although, this may be a result of the post-Sept. 11 surge in concern over terrorism and homeland security issues, rather than a genuine lessening of concern over healthcare issues.
Regardless, healthcare coverage remains a major national issue, with nearly one in five Americans reporting that they have recently postponed treatment because of cost. Moreover, while the majority of Americans seem to look to the federal government to solve health-coverage problems in the U.S., they also feel that the status quo is still tenable. As the economy slowly improves and unemployment reduces, pressure for policy changes may decrease even more. Unless a higher level of public awareness of the health insurance problem is achieved, public empathy for the issue may sidle further toward apathy.
Ben Klima contributed to this article.
*Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,004 national adults, ages 18 and older, conducted March 26-29, 1992. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.
**Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,005 national adults, ages 18 and older, conducted Nov. 8-11, 2001. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.
***Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,008 national adults, ages 18 and older, conducted Sept. 11-13, 2000. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.
^Results are based on telephone interviews with 512 national adults, ages 18 and older, conducted Nov. 8-11, 2001. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points.