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Benefits February 15, 2001
Americans Of Two Minds About Healthcare
February 15, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Despite a
sharp increase in public hostility toward the health
insurance and managed care industries, most Americans seem to
be relatively happy with their own plans, according to a new
Harris Interactive poll.
Reported by Nevin E. Adams
More than two-thirds (69%) gave their plans an “A” or “B”, while only 8% rated a “D” and a mere 2% “flunked.” Those findings were relatively consistent with the 69% that ranked their plans favorably in 1999 and the 72% in 1998.
On the Other Hand
However, looking past their own experiences, poll respondents took a dimmer view of the industry overall. Just 39% thought that the trend toward managed care would help contain costs, down from 48% in 1998 and 59% in 1995. There also appeared to be suspicions about the impact on quality of health care, with 59% indicating that the trend toward managed care would likely harm quality. Over half (52%) viewed the trend toward managed health care as a “bad” thing.
Friend-ly
More than three-fourths (78%) would recommend their plans to healthy friends, while a slightly lower 68% would recommend the plan to friends with a serious or chronic illness. Both numbers were consistent with readings from the past two years.
Furthermore, while the overall numbers are relatively consistent, the Harris survey noted a modest increase in satisfaction with employer-provided health insurance.
You can check out the report at:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/about/healthnews/HI_HealthCareNews2001Vol1_iss6.pdf
.