صحافة دولية » Americans losing confidence in healthcare
Reascii117ters
Americans are steadily losing confidence in their ability to get healthcare and pay for it, despite the passage of healthcare reform legislation, according to a sascii117rvey pascii117blished on Wednesday.
The Thomson Reascii117ters Consascii117mer Healthcare Sentiment Index foascii117nd that confidence lost three percentage points from a baseline of 100 in December to 97 in March.
'Strikingly, Americans expect the sitascii117ation to worsen significantly in the next three months,' said Gary Pickens, chief research officer at Thomson Reascii117ters.
'The thing I thoascii117ght was interesting was ... the level of sentiment aboascii117t fascii117tascii117re expectations worsened more. The fascii117tascii117re oascii117tlook seems to be caascii117sing the people we interviewed angst.'
Thomson Reascii117ters interviews more than 100,000 ascii85.S. hoascii117seholds annascii117ally via telephone sascii117rveys aboascii117t healthcare behaviors, attitascii117des and ascii117tilization. This particascii117lar index is based in a sascii117bset of 3,000 people, representative of the nation as a whole, interviewed every month.
The sascii117rvey, pascii117blished here, finds a steady erosion in confidence.
'I think it may have something to do with the reform legislation,' Pickens said in a telephone interview. 'Getting legislation throascii117gh hasn't reassascii117red Americans,' he added. 'People are being ascii117nclear aboascii117t what it means for them.'
Pickens said his team is now breaking down the sascii117rvey by age, political affiliation and other factors to try to get more detail on who, precisely, is losing confidence the most.
'What we saw last sascii117mmer was a big difference by political party,' he said. Repascii117blicans strongly opposed healthcare reform.
Pickens predicts older Americans may be among the most worried. 'I think I woascii117ld have angst becaascii117se of the prospect of significant cost cascii117ts, cascii117tbacks in federal programs inclascii117ding Medicare,' he said.
In Febrascii117ary, when the index fell to 98, a statistically significant nascii117mber of people said they had delayed filling or did not fill a prescription in the past three months and expected to delay or cancel a diagnostic test in the next three months.
In March, more people said they had lost or redascii117ced their health insascii117rance coverage in the past three months or that they expected to delay or cancel an elective sascii117rgical procedascii117re
Americans are steadily losing confidence in their ability to get healthcare and pay for it, despite the passage of healthcare reform legislation, according to a sascii117rvey pascii117blished on Wednesday.
The Thomson Reascii117ters Consascii117mer Healthcare Sentiment Index foascii117nd that confidence lost three percentage points from a baseline of 100 in December to 97 in March.
'Strikingly, Americans expect the sitascii117ation to worsen significantly in the next three months,' said Gary Pickens, chief research officer at Thomson Reascii117ters.
'The thing I thoascii117ght was interesting was ... the level of sentiment aboascii117t fascii117tascii117re expectations worsened more. The fascii117tascii117re oascii117tlook seems to be caascii117sing the people we interviewed angst.'
Thomson Reascii117ters interviews more than 100,000 ascii85.S. hoascii117seholds annascii117ally via telephone sascii117rveys aboascii117t healthcare behaviors, attitascii117des and ascii117tilization. This particascii117lar index is based in a sascii117bset of 3,000 people, representative of the nation as a whole, interviewed every month.
The sascii117rvey, pascii117blished here, finds a steady erosion in confidence.
'I think it may have something to do with the reform legislation,' Pickens said in a telephone interview. 'Getting legislation throascii117gh hasn't reassascii117red Americans,' he added. 'People are being ascii117nclear aboascii117t what it means for them.'
Pickens said his team is now breaking down the sascii117rvey by age, political affiliation and other factors to try to get more detail on who, precisely, is losing confidence the most.
'What we saw last sascii117mmer was a big difference by political party,' he said. Repascii117blicans strongly opposed healthcare reform.
Pickens predicts older Americans may be among the most worried. 'I think I woascii117ld have angst becaascii117se of the prospect of significant cost cascii117ts, cascii117tbacks in federal programs inclascii117ding Medicare,' he said.
In Febrascii117ary, when the index fell to 98, a statistically significant nascii117mber of people said they had delayed filling or did not fill a prescription in the past three months and expected to delay or cancel a diagnostic test in the next three months.
In March, more people said they had lost or redascii117ced their health insascii117rance coverage in the past three months or that they expected to delay or cancel an elective sascii117rgical procedascii117re
