A Bipartisan Consensus: Vast Majority Of Americans Want Government To Do Something About Surprise Medical Bills
Majorities in both parties also want the government to act on high drug prices as well, a new tracking poll finds. The poll also shows that the Trump administration is out of sync with Americans when it comes to overturning the health law. Just slightly more than one-fourth of the public overall say that Congress should repeal the ACA.
The Washington Post:
Americans Are More Focused On Health Costs Than Medicare-For-All, Poll Shows
Most Americans want Congress to take action to lower their family’s health care expenses, rather than make sweeping changes such as adopting Medicare-for-all, or repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, according to a new survey. At a time when Democratic presidential candidates are emphasizing universal health coverage — with those on the left advocating Medicare-for- all — not quite half of the respondents who identify as Democrats regard that as a priority for Congress in the latest poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That compares with 14 percent of Republicans. (Goldstein, 4/24)
The Hill:
Poll: Majority Of Americans Want Laws Protecting Them From Surprise Medical Bills
Three-quarters of the public — including a majority of Republicans — think the federal government should protect patients from having to cover surprise medical bills, according to a new poll released Wednesday. A surprise bill usually occurs after a patient visits a hospital that is inside their insurer’s network, but received treatment from an out-of-network doctor, or the patient was taken by ambulance to an out-of-network emergency room. (Weixel, 4/24)
Kaiser Health News:
Americans Overwhelmingly Want Federal Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills
Four in 10 American adults under age 65 say that within the past two years they or a family member received an unexpectedly high invoice for a procedure, test or doctor’s visit they thought would be better covered by their insurer, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation poll. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.) Half of those people said the high bill occurred because the medical provider was not in their insurance network. (Rau, 4/24)
More Bills Of The Month: Check out KHN's special coverage on surprisingly high medical bills.
In other news on health care costs —
Kaiser Health News:
In 10 Years, Half Of Middle-Income Elders Won’t Be Able To Afford Housing, Medical Care
In 10 years, more than half of middle-income Americans age 75 or older will not be able to afford to pay for yearly assisted living rent or medical expenses, according to a study published Wednesday in Health Affairs. The researchers used demographic and income data to project estimates of a portion of the senior population, those who will be 75 or older in 2029, with a focus on those in the middle-income range — currently $25,001 to $74,298 per year for those ages 75 to 84. (Knight, 4/24)
Modern Healthcare:
More Middle-Income Seniors Face Financial Insecurity
Most middle-income seniors over the age of 75 will not be able to afford housing and healthcare come 2029, new research shows. The often-overlooked demographic is estimated to nearly double in size to 14.4 million people in a decade, 54% of whom could not cover $60,000 for assisted-living rent and other out-of-pocket medical costs even if they sold their home and committed all their annual income, according to a new study conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago and funded by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care. (Kacik, 4/24)
