Surprise! Medicare Ranks High in Consumer Satisfaction

CSCC is considering partnering with a local university to co-sponsor a poll of the PA-10 District about healthcare reform and a "public option" for health insurance. The results, regardless of what they show, would be published for all to see and shared with our local lawmakers.

This article from the National Journal Online is definitely worth reading, and may be important in informing the type of poll we want to do. It shows two important things:

• When asked if they support "having the government create a new health insurance plan to compete with private health insurance plans," 62% of Americans supported that. Describing the plan as "government administered" and "similar to Medicare" resulted in even more positive reactions: 67% and 72% support in two other polls.
• Even more encouraging is the data from the Dept. of Health & Human Service's CAHPS survey which gauges consumer satisfaction with their current health insurance. 51-60% of people who have government insurance (Medicare or Medicaid) give their health plan a 9 or 10 rating (out of 10), whereas only 40% of people with private insurance do. What's driving this difference is that Medicare patients perceive they have better access to care, with 70% saying they "always" get access to needed care (vs. only 51% of those with private insurance).

I think the people arguing that "Americans are afraid of government-run health insurance" don't want us to look at this type of information. So take a look. And if you favor a public option, make sure your representatives know it.