More than two-thirds of healthcare professionals don’t feel they can impact the sustainability of government funded healthcare
Eighty percent of healthcare professionals and 70 percent of consumers are concerned about the sustainability and affordability of government-funded healthcare, and yet more than two-thirds of both groups don’t feel that they have the ability to preserve it for future generations. This is according to recent research conducted by StrategicHealthSolutions, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) contractor, and W5, a marketing research consultancy.
The survey, conducted during the height of the healthcare debate this summer, aimed to understand how industry professionals – doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants – and their patients feel about the state of government-funded healthcare in America, specifically Medicare and Medicaid. More than 80 percent of respondents said federal and state elected officials hold the greatest responsibility for preserving the healthcare safety net, and nearly 70 percent of consumers and healthcare professionals agreed that access to affordable healthcare for all Americans is a right, not a privilege.
Comparatively, more than half of both groups said they felt a personal responsibility to act to preserve these programs.
“What we’re seeing is that consumers and healthcare professionals in general feel disenfranchised by the healthcare debate in Congress,” said Peg Stessman, CEO of StrategicHealthSolutions. “Individual responses from the research showed that many feel their representatives simply aren’t listening to them. This signals, to me, that we need to move past ‘what can Congress do’ and start focusing on where we can all make a difference.”
The research also addressed specific issues impacting the sustainability of Medicare and Medicaid, such as shifting costs from the government to individuals – a concern for nearly 70 percent of consumers and professionals. Both groups showed willingness to change specific behaviors that would curb rising Medicare and Medicaid costs and extend the lifespan of these programs. Healthcare professionals were willing to encourage their patients to participate in wellness programs (83%), and to complete educational activities for themselves and their staff (66%), to help keep costs of Medicare and Medicaid down. Consumers said they would be willing to comply with doctor’s orders to prevent exacerbations of current health conditions (72%), use tools to calculate costs (63%), and participate in wellness programs to more proactively manage their health (63%).
“While this data is encouraging, consumers and healthcare professionals are still skeptical that they can impact the lifespan of Medicare and Medicaid,” said Stessman. “The gap between feeling a responsibility to change healthcare and their ability to do so is an area we need to address, regardless of what Congress does or doesn’t do. We all need to check our healthcare habits and start getting serious about what we can do to preserve these programs for future generations.”
For a full read out of the report from StrategicHealthSolutions and W5, visit https://strategichs.com/blog/2017/10/26/survey-says-its-time-for-we-the-people-to-save-health-care-for-all/.
About StrategicHealthSolutions
Established in 2005, StrategicHealthSolutions, LLC (Strategic) is an elite woman-owned organization that works to ensure the sustainability of America’s health care system. Our team of medical and technical experts works closely with government entities to recoup misspent dollars and prevent future misuse through education, analytics, and investigation. We bring the power of insight to superior solutions. We are a recognized and trusted government contractor in the health care services industry, a CMMI level 3 company and an ISO 9001 2008 certified provider of solutions for government health care programs.