Practice Economics

Survey: Insurance companies, government blamed for cost of health care


 

When it comes to the increasingly high cost of health care, Americans are most likely to put the blame on health insurance companies and the government, according to a survey from digital media company Morning Consult.

Among all responders, 30% said that insurance companies were most responsible for the high costs of health care, while 25% put the blame on the government and another 12% named the drug companies, Morning Consult reported.

Things change a bit, though, when viewed through a political lens. Among Democrats, 37% said that insurance companies bore the most responsibility, compared with 14% for the government and 14% for drug companies. Republicans saw the situation a bit differently, with government leading the way at 37%, insurance companies at 22%, and drug companies at 10%. Among Independents, 29% put primary responsibility on insurance companies, 25% on the government, and 10% on drug companies, the survey showed.

Among other entities included in the survey, 9% of all respondents said that hospitals were most responsible for the high cost of health care, 7% blamed physicians, and 2% blamed medical device companies.

The survey was conducted online during March 21-23, 2014, and May 2-4, 2014, among a national sample of 3,687 registered voters. It was performed by Survey Sampling International.

rfranki@frontlinemedcom.com

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