Lambert here: I think “concern” is a bit weak. What about “screaming depression”?
By Noam N. Levey, senior correspondent at KFF Health News. Originally published on KFF Health News.
Tom Zawierucha, 58, who works in construction in New Jersey, wishes the candidates would talk more about protecting older Americans from large medical bills.
Teresa Morton, 43, a delivery driver in Memphis, Tennessee, with two teenagers, wants to hear more about how elected officials can help hard-working Americans who are suffering from low income tax deductions.
Yessica Gray, 28, a customer support representative in Wisconsin, wants relief from the high drug prices and medical bills that have driven her and her husband deep into debt. “How much will we pay?” he said. “It’s just something that’s always on my mind.”
Health care is not prominent in this increasingly presidential campaign. And the economy in general has been high on the list of voters’ concerns.
But Americans are still very concerned about paying for health care, a national survey says.
Two out of three American adults in a recent poll conducted by West Health and Gallup nationwide said they were worried that a major health event would put them in debt. The same share said health care is not getting enough attention in the campaign.
To better understand voters’ health concerns as the 2024 campaign draws to a close, KFF Health News worked with research firm PerryUndem to conduct two focus groups last week with 16 people from across the country. PerryUndem is a nonprofit firm based in Washington, DC, that researches public opinion on health care and other issues.
Focus group participants represent a wide range of voters, some preferring Republican candidates, while others prefer Democrats. But almost all of them shared the same complaint: No presidential candidate has talked enough about how to help people struggling to pay for health care.
“You don’t hear much about health care costs,” said Bob Groegler, 46, who works in residential real estate in eastern Pennsylvania. Groegler said he is worried he may not be able to retire because he won’t have enough money to pay his medical bills.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has yet to offer a detailed health care agenda, although he has criticized current laws and said he has “ideas for a plan” to improve the Affordable Care Act of 2010, commonly known as Obamacare.
Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, has laid out more detailed health care proposals, including a bill signed by President Joe Biden to lower patient bills.
In 2022, Biden signed the Depreciation Act, which limits how much Medicare enrollees must pay out-of-pocket for prescription drugs, including a $35 cap on insulin. The law also provides additional federal assistance to help Americans purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, although this assistance will expire unless Congress and the president renew it next year.
Harris said he would expand aid and push for new aid for Medicare enrollees who need home care. He also promised to continue the organization’s efforts to relieve medical debt, a nationwide problem that affects about 100 million people.
But most of the participants in the focus group said they knew little about these proposals, complaining that hot topics such as abortion are what dominate the campaign.
Many also expressed deep skepticism that Harris or Trump would do much to reduce the medical debt burden.
“I believe they are out of touch with our reality,” said Renata Bobakova, 46, a teacher and mother outside Cleveland. “We don’t know when we will get sick. We never know when we’re going to fall down or sprain our ankle. And the prices can actually be astronomical. … I always worry about that.”
Bobakova, who is originally from Slovakia, said she returned to Europe to give birth to her daughter 10 years ago to avoid incurring a medical bill that she knew she would incur in this country. Parents with private health care face an average of more than $3,000 in medical bills related to pregnancy and childbirth that are not covered by insurance.
Some group participants said they or people they know left the country to get cheaper prescription drugs. The US has the highest medical prices in the world, a study shows.
Many focus group participants, such as Kevin Gaudette, 64, a retired semiconductor engineer from North Carolina, accused major hospitals, drug companies, and insurance companies of blocking efforts to lower patient costs to protect their profits. “I think everybody has a finger in the pie,” Gaudette said.
Martha Chapman, 64, also retired and living in Philadelphia, pointed to what she called “corporate greed.” “I just don’t think it’s going to change,” she said.
In the closing days of the campaign, that criticism represents a particular problem for Harris, said PerryUndem founder Michael Perry, who led the two focus groups.
Harris has tried to distinguish himself as someone who is more policy-minded and more sensitive to the economic struggles of voters, Perry said. And in recent weeks, he has begun airing new ads highlighting health care issues.
But even members of the mainstream party who say they lean toward the Democratic Alliance seem to blame both candidates for not solving Americans’ health care problems. “They don’t feel heard,” Perry said.
Many of the participants, however, continued to express hope that an issue as important as health care will one day receive the attention of elected officials, regardless of political party.
“We are all people here. “We’re all people trying to make it,” said Zawierucha, a construction worker in New Jersey. “If we get sick or have to go in and do something, we should have that peace of mind that we can go in there and not worry about paying for it for the next 20 years.”
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