What Does The Public Want In Health Care? (NAPSA)—Accordingto a recent survey, over three in four Americans—76 percent—believe health Americans’ Overall Views of the U.S. Health Care System care is in need of major reform. But Congress, the states and policy experts have found little consensus on how to address the problem. The new poll shows that Ameri- cans are worried about rising health care costs and their effect on family budgets. The fear of having to pay for procedures out of pocket keeps 50 percent ofall Americans—uninsured and those with coverage—from seeing a Percent saying: Total Insurance status Totalinsured Uninsured during year Political affiliation Republican Democrat Independent Fundamental changes needed 46 Rebuild completely 30 48 35 28 48 43 44 53 19 4] 27 physician. And more middle- Source: Commonwealth Fund SurveyofPublic Views ofthe U.S. Health Care System, 2006 @ share of costs for health insurance More than three-quarters of Americans believe health care in income families are finding it impossible to pay their increasing offered at the workplace. Even if job-based coverage is available now, workers are con- this country is in need of major will continue to provide it in the san, grassroots organization with membersin 47 states. Together, the organizations are cerned whether their employer future. The number of uninsured increased by 7 million people between 2000 and 2005—mostly full-time workers. There is also mounting evidence of poor quality and ineffi- cient spending in our health care system. Compared to most na- tions, we spend twice as much but achieve worse medical outcomes across many measures of care. Nearly 50 percent of Americans do not get recommended care when they seek treatment and many are subject to medical errors. To help find a solution to the growing health care crisis, the National Coalition on Health Care—the nation’s largest, most broadly based nonpartisanalli- ance seeking health care reform, with 75 member organizations representing over 150 million peo- ple—has joined forces with Code- reform. BlueNow!, a national, nonparti- distributing the Health Care Values and Ideas America Opinion- naire, which allows consumers to weigh in on what is important to them when it comes to health care. This new, interactive, online survey will let people share their views and track how othersfeel about how to improve our health care system. “The American public has sel- dom been asked whatis important to them in health care. This Opinionnaire will permit us to find areas of common ground andto let our elected officials know what our citizens want,” said Patricia Schoeni, Executive Director of the National Coalition. To give your views on health care reform,fill out The Opinionnaire at www.nchc.org.
