Recovery opinions

A new consumer poll by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions found that 41% of consumers believe health reform will have a positive impact on U.S. economic recovery, while 25% believe it will have a negative impact.

Additionally, 38% of consumers are not knowledgeable about the components of the new health reform law; 64% give the current health care system a grade of "C" or below; and 67% think fraud is a major influence on driving up the cost of health care.

"Since 2008, we have surveyed consumers about their assessment of the U.S. health care system," Paul Keckley, Ph.D., executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, said in a statement. "Consumers remain mixed in their assessment of the system’s performance, concerned about costs, and supportive of changes that improve its value."

The survey was conducted by telephone between Sept. 29 and Oct. 4, 2010 among a nationally representative sample of 1,008 adults 18 years old and above.

OTHER FINDINGS
• Nearly 80% of younger adults, 18-24 years old, think health reform will actually have a positive impact on economic recovery. In contrast, only 30% of adults 55-64 years old and 34% of adults 65 years old and older think it will have a positive impact.

• More than one-third (36%) of consumers say they are financially prepared to handle future health care costs, compared with 17% who say they are unprepared. Only 5% of young adults, 18-24 years old, say they are financially unprepared, likely due to the fact that, under the new health reform bill, they can remain on their parents’ coverage until they reach the age of 26.

• Consumers think health insurance company costs (70%), hospital costs (69%) and prescription drugs (61%) are major influences on driving overall health care system costs.

• 43% of consumers think health reform will have a positive impact on eliminating waste, fraud or abuse of the health care system, while 21% think it will have a negative impact.  Fifty-five percent of younger adults (18-24 and 25-34 years old) think it will have a positive impact, while more than one out of four of those 65 years old and older (29%) think it will have a negative impact.

• 45% percent of consumers think health reform will have a positive impact on reducing health insurance costs, while 30% think it will have a negative impact. 69% of younger consumers 18-24 years old and 52% of consumers 24-35 years old think it will have a positive impact, while 41% of consumers 55-64 years old and 39% of consumers 65 years old and older think it will have a negative impact.