CT Residents Concerned About Healthcare Costs, Suggest Policy Actions

Connecticut residents are worried about paying for health coverage and care, and are delaying or skipping recommended medical treatment and tests. They also support bold solutions across party lines, according to policy briefs released this month by Universal Health Care Foundation, based on the results of a statewide survey conducted in partnership with Altarum Institute’s Healthcare Value Hub. The poll found that state residents:

• Avoided or delayed treatments and tests, cut pills in half or did not fill prescriptions because of cost concerns
• Worry about affording health care in the future
• Had difficulty navigating our complex health care system, including dealing with surprise medical bills

The survey revealed that residents are not satisfied with the current health care system: 80 percent agree or strongly agree that “the system needs to change.”  When given more than 20 options, they focused on the high prices charged by industry players, citing most frequently as a “major reason” for high health care costs:

• Drug companies charging too much money—81 percent
• Hospitals charging too much money—74 percent
• Insurance companies charging too much money—74 percent

When asked about possible strategies for tackling high health care costs, residents expressed strong support, across party lines, for government to take action.

• Show what a fair price would be for specific procedures – 95 percent
• Authorize the Attorney General to take legal action to prevent price gouging or unfair prescription drug price hikes – 94 percent
• Set standard payment to hospitals for specific procedures – 89 percent
• Set standard prices for drubs to make them affordable – 89 percent

The survey found relatively little statistical difference in the responses of individuals indicating their political party affiliation as Democrat, or neither.

In the poll of 900 Connecticut adults, nearly 9 in 10 people (88%) who take prescriptions regularly worry they won’t be able to afford their medication.  And 20 percent reported that they were so worried about drug prices that they did one or more of the following:  not fill a prescription, cut pills in half, or skip a prescribed dose. 

Half of Connecticut adults indicated that they experienced a problem with health care affordability in the past year, and nearly as many, 43 percent, delayed or did not get care due to cost, with one-third indicating that they delayed going to the doctor or having a procedure done.

Universal Health Care Foundation is supporting IVote4Healthcare, a nonpartisan voter registration, education and engagement effort, with Protect Our Care CT, to highlight those findings and changes in the health care system.