Americans Say Their Number 1 Concern Is Health Care Costs
A Monmouth University poll finds that health care costs outrank terrorism or crime as a worry for families. Also, a Harvard health care researcher finds that high deductibles can have a very personal effect.
McClatchy:
Americans More Worried About Health Care Cost Than Other Concerns
American families aren’t as worried about terrorism or crime as they are about paying their health care bills, a new poll suggests. Health care costs have emerged as the No. 1 concern for American families, according to a new national Monmouth University poll. Health care costs outranked a variety of other concerns that registered in the single digits, including college tuition and taxes. (Clark, 2/7)
Asbury Park Press:
Poll: Health Care Cost Tops Americans' Biggest Concerns
National security and immigration have been taking up much of the spotlight lately with Donald Trump in the White House, but what has Americans worried the most is their health care, according to a new Monmouth University Poll. About 25 percent of respondents in a nationwide poll said the cost of health care was the biggest concern facing their family, a 10-point jump over a similar poll conducted in 2015. By contrast, national security and immigration — issues that jumped to the forefront during the chaotic first weeks of the Trump administration — ranked very low in the survey. (Davis, 2/7)
Kaiser Health News:
With A High Deductible, Even A Doctor Can Short Change His Health
All the doctor’s tricks were failing him. He’d tried neck massage, pressure to the eyes, ice on the face. But an hour in, Ashish Jha still couldn’t slow his racing heart. His wife asked what he’d recommend if a patient called with the same problem. “I said, ‘Oh, that’s easy.’ Go to the emergency department.” As a physician, Jha knew this tachycardia could possibly lead to a heart attack. Yet he felt caught by a decision he’d made in enrolling his family in a so-called high-deductible insurance plan. (Gorenstein, 2/8)
