QUARTER OF AMERICANS SAY THEY OR FAMILY PUT OFF MEDICAL TREATMENT

KAISER FOUNDATION - One in four Americans say that they or a family
member in their household had problems paying medical bills during the
past 12 months, according to a new poll conducted jointly by ABC News,
the Kaiser Family Foundation and USA Today. That's the highest share of
Americans reporting a problem paying medical bills in a series of Kaiser
surveys taken since 1997. Among those reporting a problem this year,
nearly seven in 10 have health insurance.

- About one in four (28%) Americans say that in the past year they or a
family member have put off medical treatment because of its cost. Of
those who delayed treatment, seven in 10 (70%) say that the care was for
a serious medical condition.

- Among those with health insurance, most (60%) are worried about not
being able to afford coverage over the next few years, with 27% saying
they are very worried.

- More than half (54%) of those without health coverage say the main
reason is because they can't afford it, while another 15% say they can't
get it due to poor health, illness or age. In comparison, just 4% say
the main reason they lack health insurance is because they think they
don't need it.

- Eight in 10 Americans (80%) say they are dissatisfied with the overall
cost of health care to the nation. When asked about their own concerns
about the health care system, cost comes out far ahead of quality. Four
in 10 say that they are dissatisfied with their personal health care
costs, compared with one in 10 who say they are dissatisfied with the
quality of their health care.

JULIE APPLEBY, USA TODAY - Fifty-six percent say they would prefer
universal coverage to the current system. . . In the survey, 68% said
providing coverage for everyone is more important than keeping taxes
down. . .

When survey respondents were asked about possible trade-offs that might
come with a universal program, positive responses plummeted. The poll
found:

76% would oppose universal coverage if it meant some medical treatments
currently covered by insurance would no longer be covered.

68% would be against it if it led to limits on the choice of doctors.

http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomHealth-TopStories/~
3/37693551/2006-10-15-universal-usat_x.htm


DEAN BAKER, PROSPECT - USA Today had an article this morning on rising
U.S. health care costs. It never mentions the fact that the United
States pays more than twice as much per person as the average among
other wealthy countries, yet has shorter life expectancies.

SURVEY RESULTS
http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/pomr101606pkg.cfm

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MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICANS DISSATISFIED WITH HEALTH COSTS

RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, LA TIMES - The annual Health Confidence Survey,
released by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute, found
that more than half of those surveyed — 52% — were dissatisfied with
health insurance costs, a sharp increase from 33% last year. . .

Retirement plans took a big hit, with 36% of those who reported higher
costs over the last year saying they had reduced their contributions to
401(k) plans. Of that group, 28% said that because of health-related
costs, they had trouble paying for such basic necessities as housing,
heat and food. . . The institute's poll found that workers regard their
employer-sponsored coverage as an ever more valuable benefit, even as
many new jobs come with no coverage and employers cut back or drop
existing plans.

Overall, the proportion of employees covered by a company plan dropped
from 81% in 2001 to 77% in 2005. Asked to choose between a $6,700 raise
and employer-sponsored health insurance, 75% of those polled picked the
health plan.

Of those, 13% said no raise would be big enough to persuade them to give
up their coverage. The average cost of employer-provided coverage was
about $6,700 per worker in 2004. It has since gone up to more than
$7,100.

http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/nationworld/nation/~3/41270734/
la-na-health25oct25,1,7649608.story

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