The Majority Supports Adding A Public Option
Our current U.S healthcare system is failing families with many individuals being unable to afford health insurance. “From January through June 2021, 31.1 million people of all ages (9.6%) were uninsured at the time of interview (NHIS). The percentage of uninsured adults was highest among those with family incomes less than 100% FPL (26.9%).
Statistics prove that current healthcare policies are too expensive to obtain and keep, hindering access to needed medical care, and overall decreasing quality of life. Opting for a public healthcare option would give Americans the choice between a government-run health program or private insurance.
According to a Morning Consultant 2021 poll, “68% of voters support a public health insurance option, including 80% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans.” “It increases competition and gives both businesses and individuals the freedom to choose a health insurance plan that’s more affordable and dependable. A public health insurance option allows the state or federal government to ensure that prices are reasonable, while benefits and care remain high-quality. (unitedstatesofcare.org)
Americans Challenges with Healthcare Costs: https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/
“About half of U.S. adults say they have difficulty affording health care costs. About four in ten U.S. adults say they have delayed or gone without medical care in the last year due to cost, with dental services being the most common type of care adults report putting off due to cost.”
“Substantial shares of adults 65 or older report difficulty paying for various aspects of health care, especially services not generally covered by Medicare, such as hearing services, dental and prescription drug costs.”
“The cost of health care often prevents people from getting needed care or filling prescriptions. About a quarter of adults say they or family member in their household have not filled a prescription, cut pills in half, or skipped doses of medicine in the last year because of the cost, with larger shares of those in households with lower incomes, Black and Hispanic adults, and women reporting this.”
“High health care costs disproportionately affect uninsured adults, Black and Hispanic adults, and those with lower incomes. Larger shares of U.S. adults in each of these groups report difficulty affording various types of care and delaying or forgoing medical care due to the cost.”
“Those who are covered by health insurance are not immune to the burden of health care costs. About one-third of insured adults worry about affording their monthly health insurance premium, and 44% worry about affording their deductible before health insurance kicks in.”
“Health care debt is a burden for a large share of Americans. About four in ten adults (41%) report having debt due to medical or dental bills including debts owed to credit cards, collections agencies, family and friends, banks, and other lenders to pay for their health care costs, with disproportionate shares of Black and Hispanic adults, women, parents, those with low incomes, and uninsured adults saying they have health care debt.”
“Affording gasoline and transportation costs is now a top worry for Americans followed by unexpected medical bills. While worry over gasoline and transportation costs has risen markedly since 2020, significant shares of adults still say they are worried about affording medical costs such as unexpected bills, deductibles, and long-term care services for themselves or a family member.”
An estimated 9.6% of U.S. residents, or 31.1 million people, lacked health insurance when surveyed in the first six months of 2021, according to preliminary estimates from the National Health Interview Survey.
