Americans’ views on health care haven’t changed much during the pandemic, poll finds
While a lot has changed in the United States throughout the coronavirus pandemic, views on health care have stayed essentially the same, a new poll suggests.
A poll conducted by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research included two surveys about opinions on health care — one in mid-February and one in mid-May — and found that Americans’ views didn’t change much over the three-month period.
Overall, Americans are still more concerned with the country’s health care system than they are with their personal care, the poll found.
While 19% of respondents reported being “extremely/very concerned” about losing or not having health insurance, 56% answered the same about “some Americans” being without insurance. And 35% reported being concerned about their own spending on health care while 47% reported concern about the country’s spending.
Additionally, 46% are concerned about their access to high-quality care while 62% say they’re concerned about access to quality care for Americans overall.
The coronavirus crisis has put a spotlight on the country’s health care system. Personal protective equipment, or PPE, and equipment shortages, testing capabilities, hospital capacities and health care disparities among communities of color have emerged as major issues and topics amid the pandemic.
But the poll shows that Americans’ views on the health care system have stayed pretty much consistent.
Fewer Americans reported feeling concerned about their own health care between February and May but there were no significant changes in how many reported concern about the system, the poll says.
Between February and May, the percentage of respondents who reported concern about Americans who do not have health insurance went up by 4 percentage points. The percentage concerned about how much the United States spends on health care went down 7 percentage points and the percentage concerned about Americans having access to high-quality care went up by 3 points.
The first survey was conducted Feb. 13-16 and included 1,015 American adults from across the country with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.15 percentage points, the poll says. The second was conducted May 14-18 and included 1,001 American adults from across the country at a margin of error of plus or minus 4.37 percentage points.
Both surveys selected participants through AmeriSpeak, which is “designed to be representative of the U.S. Household population,” according to the poll.
In mid-February, the coronavirus outbreak was not yet widespread in the United States and all 50 states hadn’t yet reported cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In mid-May, the pandemic was in full swing and the country was approaching 100,000 deaths.
Despite recent attention on the government’s handling of the pandemic, opinions on it compared to the private health care sector haven’t significantly changed, the poll says.
Of those who responded, 70% say the private sector is better at driving health care innovation and 62% say it’s better at improving care quality. But Americans remain closely divided on which sector is better at reducing health care costs and providing insurance.
The poll found a deep divide between Republicans and Democrats on whether the government or private sector is better at reducing costs and providing coverage — with more Democrats favoring the government.
Opinions on government spending on health care also remained consistent between February and May.
In May, 56% said the government is not spending enough on “improving and protecting the nation’s health” compared to 55% in February.
There was also evidence of partisan divide on health care spending. While the poll found 83% of Democrats think the government is spending too little, 31% of Republicans responded the same.
However, less respondents said the government is spending too much overall — including on defense, the environment, education and transportation and infrastructure — between February and May and more say it’s spending about the right amount overall.
Views on Americans’ own spending also stayed consistent, the poll found.
In May, 57% responded that they would prefer Americans pay less for health care but more in taxes, an attitude that has “stayed steady” since February.
The poll found Democrats were more than twice as likely to prefer this compared to Republicans.
Trevor Tompson, director of The AP-NORC Center, said in a Monday news release about the poll that while the surveys didn’t show the pandemic has altered American concerns about the country’s health care system, it did find “stark partisan divide” on how to address the concerns.
“The pandemic has brought to the forefront the importance of social safety net programs—for both income and health care,” Katherine Baicker, dean at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, said in the release. “Many people are concerned about health care costs and access for fellow Americans, but there are sharp partisan differences about the role of government in financing health care and whether the government or the private sector can best handle key elements of health care.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Americans’ views on health care haven’t changed much during the pandemic, poll finds."
