May/June 2001

Affordable Healthcare A Top Priority, Poll Finds

NEW YORK - Consumers are more concerned about affordable health-care coverage than they are about their right to sue health maintenance organizations (HMOs), according to new survey data released by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

The BCBSA released the polling data as key players in the patients’ bill of rights debate continue to haggle over controversial language on holding health plans liable for coverage decisions. Nearly all of those surveyed -- 95% --said they wanted affordable health-care coverage, while 89% want to limit the cost of drugs.

On the other hand, 46% of consumers surveyed by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Knowledge Networks indicated that the right to sue should be a high priority. That priority finished last among 21 major health issues that consumers were asked to rank.

Asked to name the one or two issues that should be given the highest priority, only 1% of consumers opted for the right to sue. Most indicated that affordable coverage (24%) and limiting the cost of drugs (17%) should be the top priorities.

``When it comes to healthcare, American consumers are not fooled by all the political rhetoric,'' claimed Scott Serota, president and CEO of the BCBSA.

The consumer advocacy group Families USA, however, doesn't give the poll much credence. `If I asked, 'Do you think it is fair that important health decisions that harm patients can result in suits against physicians and nurses and hospitals and pharmacists but could not result in suits against HMOs?' we would be in the high 90s in terms of what people think,'' said Families US Executive Director Ron Pollack.

If the question were phrased to inquire whether health plans should be accountable for decisions that harm patients, he continued, ``I don't think there's any question of what the public thinks.''

Blues association spokesman Bill Pierce told Reuters Health that the survey is being circulated on Capitol Hill and among employer groups. ``We expect this also to be of use by our plans at the state level,'' he said.

The American Medical Association, meanwhile, continues its national grassroots campaign to garner support for a strong patients' bill of rights, including the right to sue. As part of that campaign, the AMA is running ads titled ``Don't Let Big Insurance Ambush Patients' Rights.''

Source: Reuters Health

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