Amanda Seitz, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Emmanuel Obeng-Dankwa can be hesitant to top up his blood pressure medication when he worries about the rent of his New York City apartment.
“Without money, I would rather be homeless without drugs,” said Obeng-Dankwa, a 58-year-old security guard.
He’s one of the majority of adults who say health care isn’t being handled properly in the United States, according to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs.
The poll reveals that public satisfaction with the U.S. health care system is significantly lower, with less than half of Americans saying they are generally well taken care of. Only 12% said they were handled very or very well. Americans hold similar views on health care for the elderly.
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Overall, the public gives even lower ratings for the cost of prescription drugs, the quality of care in nursing homes, and how mental health care is handled, indicating that these health services are very well delivered in the country. Less than 6% said yes.
A. Mark Fendrick, Director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan, said: “The COVID pandemic has only made the situation worse.”
More than two years after the pandemic began, healthcare worker burnout and staff shortages are plaguing hospitals across the country. Fendrick said the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has killed and sickened millions across the country, leaving Americans to face face-to-face even after health centers introduced restrictions. are still struggling to get medical care for
In fact, polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans (nearly eight in 10) say they are at least moderately concerned about having access to quality health care when they need it. increase.
Black and Hispanic adults in particular are most concerned about access to healthcare, with nearly 6 in 10 saying they are very or very concerned about getting adequate healthcare. . Less than half of white adults, 44% of him, expressed the same level of concern.
Racial disparities have long plagued America’s healthcare system. They were clear enough during the COVID-19 pandemic, where Black and Hispanic people are disproportionately dying from the virus.
Fifty-three percent of women say they are very or very concerned about receiving quality care, compared to 42% of men.
Americans are united in their dissatisfaction with the health care system, but when it comes to solutions to fix it, the consensus dissolves.
About two-thirds of adults believe it’s the federal government’s responsibility to make sure that all Americans have health insurance, and adults ages 18 to 49 say more than adults age 50 and older More likely than adults to hold that view.
Still, there’s no consensus on how that coverage should be delivered.
About 4 in 10 Americans say they support a single-payer health care system that requires Americans to enroll in health insurance from government plans. Additionally, 58% said they would prefer government health insurance plans that anyone can purchase.
There is also widespread support for policies that help Americans pay for long-term care, such as government-administered insurance plans similar to Medicare, federal health insurance for people 65 and older.
Penny Wright, a retired nurse from Camden, Tennessee, doesn’t like the idea of a government-run health care system.
After switching to Medicare this year, she was surprised to come out with a $200 bill from her annual wellness visit, which was previously fully covered by her private insurance plan.
She likes the flexibility of private insurance plans.
“We feel we have the best healthcare system in the world. We can choose where we want to go,” Wright said.
A majority of Americans, about two-thirds, would be happy for the government to intervene to provide free COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments. was neutral.
Government funding for free COVID-19 tests dried up early in the month. The White House also says it will give away the latest batch of his recommended COVID-19 boosters for free to anyone who wants them, but buy future booster shots for all Americans. I don’t have the funds to do so.
Eighty percent say they support negotiating lower drug prices with the federal government. President Joe Biden signed a landmark bill this summer that would allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. The move could save taxpayers as much as $100 billion over the next decade.
“The cost of drugs should be minimal so that everyone can afford it,” said Oben Danqua, a Bronx renter who is struggling to pay for drugs. “Poor people should be able to afford all the health they need, and so should those who have the money to pay for it.”
Hannah Fingerhat, an AP poll reporter in Washington, contributed to this report.
A poll of 1,505 adults was conducted from July 28 to August. 1 Using samples drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, designed to be representative of the US population. The range of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
Follow coverage of AP health care costs at https://apnews.com/hub/health-care-costs.
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