Health care satisfaction

Results from the 2010 Health Confidence Survey shows that confidence regarding various aspects of today’s health care system has neither fallen nor increased as a result of the passage of health reform.

The HCS, an annual survey by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Mathew Greenwald & Associates, notes that since health reform was enacted just in March of this year, and implementing regulations have yet to be fully issued, the impact of the law — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) — has yet to be felt.

"It is still too early to determine how the new health reform law is being received, but we do know Americans have been and continue to be unhappy with the nation’s health care system," Paul Fronstin, director of EBRI’s Health Research and Education Program, said in a statement. "But people do see the law as detrimental to employment-based health coverage, which is where most Americans currently obtain their health insurance coverage."

The 2010 HCS represents the 13th wave of an annual survey to assess the attitudes of the American public regarding the health care system in the United States.

SURVEY FINDINGS
• A majority of Americans rate the health care system as poor (27%) or fair (31%).

• More than one-half of survey respondents report being extremely or very confident that they are able to get the treatments they need.

• The percentage of individuals who say they are extremely confident that they are able to afford health care without financial hardship increased from 11% to 16% between 2009 and 2010.

• Americans’ ratings of their own health plan are generally favorable, with 58% of those with health insurance coverage saying they are extremely or very satisfied with their current plan, and 30% are somewhat satisfied.

• Satisfaction with health care quality continues to remain fairly high, with 59% of Americans saying they are extremely or very satisfied with the quality of the medical care they have received in the past two years. This is the highest level of satisfaction reported since the HCS was started in 1998.

• In contrast, just 22% are extremely or very satisfied with the cost of their health insurance, and only 19% are satisfied with the cost of health care services not covered by insurance.

• In 2010, 52% of individuals with employment-based coverage reported that they were extremely or very confident that their (or their spouse’s) employer or union would continue to offer health insurance, down from 59% in 2009. The decline may be due to passage of health reform, the continuing weak economy, or both.