AFC-CIOandWorkingAmerica:OneinThreeSkipMedicalCareBecauseofCost,NationwideSurveyofMoreThan26,000Shows

AFL-CIOFindsBroadHealthCareProblems
EvenAmongEmployed,Insured,CollegeEducated

8in10SayHealthCareIsPriorityVotingIssue

SurveyResultsInclude7,500PersonalStories

America’shealthcaresystemisfailingeventhosewhohaveinsurance,anunprecedented26,419-personsurveysponsoredbytheAFL-CIOandWorkingAmericaconfirmedtoday.Oneinthreesaytheirfamilieshadtoskipmedicalcarebecauseofcost,aquarterhadseriousproblemspayingforthecaretheyneededandahugemajority—79percent—sayshealthcareisatopvotingissue.Thesurveyresults,oneofthelargestopinionpoolsavailableonhealthcare,includes7,500personalstories.ConductedbetweenJanuary14andMarch3,2008,itisavailableatwww.healthcaresurvey.aflcio.org.ResponsesweretabulatedandanalyzedbyPeterD.HartResearchAssociates.

Ofthemorethan26,000peoplewhotookthesurvey,mostareinsuredandemployed.Mostarecollegegraduates.Morethanhalfareunionmembers.

“ThesearethepeopleyouwouldexpecttohavepositiveexperienceswithAmerica’shealthcasesystem…theluckyones—exceptthey’renot,”saidJohnSweeney,presidentofthe10millionmemberAFL-CIO.“They’rehurting…strugglingtopaymedicalbills,skippingdoctorvisitsandprescriptionsbecauseofcosts...andtheyareextremelypessimisticaboutthefutureofourcountry.Theythinkhealthcareisoneoftoday’smostimportantissues—andtheyarereadytovoteaboutit,”Sweeneysaid.

Healthcareconcernsvotersofallages.Seventy-fourpercentofthe18-29yearoldswhotookthesurveycounthealthcareaveryimportantvotingissue,asdo80percentof50-to64-yearolds.Ninety-fivepercentofrespondentsoverall—including94percentoftheinsured—sayhealthcareinAmericaneedsfundamentalchangeortobecompletelyrebuilt.

Morethanhalfofpeopleininsuredfamiliessaytheirinsurancedoesnotcoverallthecaretheyneedatapricetheycanafford.Despitehavinginsurance,theyreportnotbeingabletoaffordprescriptiondrugs,follow-upcareandevenpreventivecare,whichareeithernotcoveredorcoveredinsufficiently.Peoplewhobuytheirowninsuranceintheprivatemarketaremorelikelythanthosewithemployer-providedhealthcaretoreportthatcriticalneedsarenotcoveredornotaffordable.

One-thirdofcollegegraduatesreporttheyorafamilymemberskippedmedicalcarebecauseofcost.Forty-sixpercentofrespondentsreporthavingtospendbetween$1000-$5000outofpocketforhealthcareinthelastyear,andanother17percentspentmorethan$5000.

ProblemsarealsoreportedbyMedicarerecipients,53percentofwhomsaytheirprescriptionsarenotcoveredorareunaffordable,despitethemuchhypedPARTDlegislationthatwassupposedtochangethat.

Peoplewholackinsurance—andthosewhohavechildrenyoungerthan18whoarenotcovered—reportparticularlytroublingproblemsgettingthecaretheyneedbecauseofcost.Inthepastyear,76percentofpeoplewholackinsurancethemselvesand71percentofpeoplewithuninsuredchildrensaysomeoneintheirfamilydidnotvisitadoctorwhensickbecauseofcost.Fifty-sevenpercentoftheuninsuredand61percentofpeoplewithuninsuredchildrenhadtochoosebetweenpayingformedicalcareorprescriptionsandotheressentialneeds(suchastherentormortgageandutilities).

ThefailuresofAmerica'shealthcaresystem,thesurveyreveals,areasignificantfactorinthepervasiveeconomicdistressfacingworkingfamiliestoday:

-Eighty-threepercentofrespondentssaytheirfamilies"havejustenoughtogetby"orare"fallingbehind."

-84percentpredictthestandardoflivingwillbeevenworseforthenextgeneration.

-Nearlyhalfoftherespondents(48percent)and60percentofLatinossaytheyorafamilymemberhasstayedinajobjusttoholdontohealthcarebenefits.

Familiesarealsoworriedaboutthefuture—andwithgoodreason:

-95percentare"somewhat"or"very"concernedaboutbeingabletoaffordhealthinsuranceinthecomingyears.

-Almosttwo-thirds(61percent)ofrespondentswithemployer-providedcoveragesaytheircostshavegottenworseinthepastcoupleyears.

“Whatwouldyoudoifyouhadtochoosebetweenfoodormedicine?”wroteMarie,fromMadison,Wis.“Iworkfulltimeandhavehealthcarethroughmyemployer,butonlyapercentageispaidbythem…Irecentlyneededmedication,butdidnotgetthemedicine.Icouldn’t….WhatwouldIchoose?Ichoosemychildrenandwhattheyneed….”Thestoriessubmittedareavailableatwww.healthcaresurvey.aflcio.org.

Healthcarequalityisalsoabigconcern.Peopleofcolor,including75percentofAfricanAmericansand76percentofLatinos,areespeciallylikelytovoicedissatisfactionwithhealthcarequality,asare64percentoverall.

HealthcareisoneofthetopissuesfortheAFL-CIO,theumbrellafederationof56nationalunions,whichisalsoworkingtowingoodjobs,astrongeconomy,fairtradeandthefreedomofworkerstoorganizetogetherforbetterlives–allpartofabroadelectionyearcampaignto“turnaroundAmerica.”

TheAFL-CIOanditscommunityaffiliate,WorkingAmerica,launchedtheseven-weeksurveyinJanuarytobetterunderstandthelandscapeofthehealthcarecrisisinAmericaandprovidethatinformationtocandidatesrunningforpublicofficein2008.Thesurvey,promotedbymorethan35organizationsonline,wasopentoanyone.

Respondentstothehealthcaresurveysaytheyarereadytoputtheirdissatisfactiontowork.Ninetypercentsaytheyarereadytotakesomeactiontoimprovehealthcare,suchassigningpetitions,writingelectedofficialsorattendingrallies.

Pledgingtosendtheresultsofthesurveytocandidatesforofficein2008atalllevels,Sweeneysaid,“TheAFL-CIOwillmakesurethatvotersunderstandwhichcandidatesarecommittedtorealhealthcarereformandwhichonesarejustpayinglipservice.”

Statebreakoutfiguresareavailableforthefollowingstatesatwww.healthcaresurvey.aflcio.org:Arizona,California,Florida,Illinois,Indiana,Massachusetts,Maryland,Michigan,Minnesota,Missouri,NewJersey,NewYork,Ohio,Oregon,Pennsylvania,Tennessee,Texas,WashingtonandWisconsin.

--AFL-CIO;courtesyofFrankLeidermann,ActingEditor