Forty-seven percent of registered voters say corporate health insurance companies are most responsible for rising healthcare costs, according to a new Morning Consult survey.
The poll was commissioned by the Coalition to Strengthen America’s Healthcare, a hospital-industry advocacy coalition founded in part by the AHA. The poll was conducted May 22 to 24 and surveyed 2,002 registered voters. The margin of error was plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Six key findings:
- Voters assigned more blame to insurers (47%) than to the federal government (36%), drug companies (34%), hospitals and health systems (20%), pharmacy benefit managers (17%) or physicians (10%) for rising healthcare costs.
- Hospitals and clinicians retained far stronger public standing than payers, with 79% of voters viewing hospitals favorably and 84% viewing physicians favorably, compared with 45% favorable and 47% unfavorable for corporate insurers.
- Insurers’ coverage practices drew broad concern, with 79% of voters worried about insurers denying or delaying a physician-ordered treatment and 77% worried about prior authorization.
- A majority pushed back on insurer control over care, with 84% saying insurers hold too much control over medical decisions and 70% saying a patient’s physician should have the final say on whether treatment is approved and covered.
- Payers face clear political exposure, as 72% of voters were more likely to back congressional candidates who are in favor of holding insurance executives accountable for wrongful denials. Seventy-one percent of respondents were in favor of requiring insurers to answer prior authorization requests within 24 hours.
- Cost has reshaped care decisions, with 30% of voters reporting that they or a household member skipped or delayed a recommended treatment in the past two years because of cost, 27% avoiding filling a prescription and 21% have taken on debt to pay medical bills.
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