Healthcare changes remain at the forefront of concerns for Americans

Originally published by Jeff Romback 

Healthcare is at the forefront of talk in Washington as improvements to the care delivered to Americans is a paramount concern. A reaction to this has been the concept of Medicare for All. While details are scarce at this time, we know the government cost will be between $36-$48 trillion over a 10 year budget cycle.

While the concept appears to have some support, when the same question is reframed as a single-payer system, support drops. The American Customer Satisfaction Index has been measuring satisfaction with health insurers since 2001. In 2018, the average Customer Satisfaction Score for Health Insurance was 74 percent, over 19 percent higher than the support for Medicare for All.

The take away appears to be that customers are looking for a change, even a drastic one, based on specific conceptions about health insurance. However, when reflecting on their own insurance, they seem to be very pleased with the services they have available from their insurer. Americans remain concerned with the cost of healthcare as the dissatisfaction rate averaged 79 percent over the past three years. This doesn’t warrant a tearing down of the system to the studs. The industry must improve in its education of consumers. Despite the costs and the narratives, Americans remain overwhelmingly satisfied with their health insurance.

MAHP will take the time through this year to blog, social media post, and provide materials to assist and educate consumers on their health insurance. MAHP will also continue to advocate for access to high-quality, transparent, competitive, healthcare system which increases the health status of Michiganders.