Articles

(December 2005) The level of economic insecurity of Pennsylvanians remains high, according to the 2005 IssuesPA/Pew benchmark poll, and the number one driver of that insecurity is health care costs. 

When asked about their personal economic future, 51% of those surveyed said they’re “very concerned” they won’t be able to afford adequate health care when a family member gets sick – a bigger concern than financing retirement and several other economic factors.

The poll asked whether 22 specific issues were a “big problem” in their region.  None ranked higher among those responding than affordability of health care.  In fact, nothing else even came close. 

Seven in 10 (70%) said “keeping health care affordable” is a major problem in their region – and for good reason.  In 2003, the latest data available, the average annual cost of employment-based health insurance premiums for family coverage was $9,133 in Pennsylvania, slightly less than the national average of $9,249, and an increase of 9.2% over the previous year.  In Pennsylvania, employees paid $2,055 or 22.5% of this total.  Since the employees pay over one-fifth of the cost of their health care, as the costs of employers increase, employees’ cost usually increase proportionately.  This assumes that employers continue to provide coverage.  Some haven’t. 

What are other health care challenges

A majority (57%) of those polled also said that “helping the uninsured get health care” is a major problem where they live.  Again, the data support their impressions.  About one person in eight is without health insurance in Pennsylvania and one in seven nationally.  The trend is unfavorable.  The number covered by employer-sponsored insurance in Pennsylvania declined 5.3% between 2000 and 2004.  At the same time the percentage of non-elderly people without insurance increased 3.9%.  The nation as a whole experienced a similar trend but the change wasn’t as steep.  The number of people covered by employers decreased by 4.8%.  The number of non-elderly uninsured increased by 2.7%.

Other causes for concern about health care are much less likely to be seen as major problems, including the malpractice issue (37%) and the quality of care (34%).  But even these issues register about as high as any concern related to education tested in the poll.

What about government performance related to health care?

More than a third (36%) of Pennsylvanians surveyed said health care in their region is getting worse, and state and local government doesn’t get a pass.  Only 10% of those polled said government is doing an excellent or good job in helping to keep health care affordable.  A majority (55%) said government is doing a poor job in this area.  Four in 10 (41%) also gave state and local government the lowest possible rating of “poor” for its performance in helping the uninsured get health care.

When asked what should be the top health care priority for government action, those surveyed most often chose working to keep health care affordable (49%) and helping the uninsured (26%).  This was the preference in all regions except for the City of Philadelphia, where respondents split between health care affordability and helping the uninsured by a closer margin, 36% versus 34%.

So what does this mean for policymakers?

It’s clear health care as an issue is big, and it’s here to stay.  This year’s poll reinforces previous IssuesPA/Pew poll results, and in some cases, exhibits even greater concerns.  It’s also clear the public doesn’t believe government has done a very good job fixing the problem as confidence levels on government and health care are dismal.

So what’s the answer?  On one hand, the levels of concern strongly suggest the public wants something done.  On the other hand, just attacking the high and rising costs of health care won’t suffice. 

Dealing with the increasing number of uninsured is a high priority, and while the quality of health care is near the bottom of the list, it’s as important or more important than many other public policy issues.  It seems that, at least from the results of this poll, Pennsylvanians are seeking a comprehensive solution.