Americans' view of health care quality and coverage hits 24-year low, poll finds
FILE - A lab technician cares for a patient in the Emergency Department at Providence St. Mary Medical Center on March 11, 2022, in Apple Valley, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Americans' positive views of the quality and coverage of U.S. health care has reached its lowest point in more than two decades, according to a recent poll by Gallup.
Roughly 44% of U.S. adults said the quality of health care is excellent (11%) or good (33%), Gallup reported – which is down by a total of 10 percentage points since 2020 "after steadily eroding each year."
Between 2001 and 2020, majorities ranging from 52% to 62% rated U.S. health care quality positively. In Gallup’s latest poll, 54% said it is only fair (38%) or poor (16%).
The findings from Gallup’s annual Health and Healthcare poll also found that Americans rate health care coverage in the U.S. even more negatively than they rate quality.
Just 28% said coverage was excellent or good, which was four points lower than the average since 2001 – when Gallup began the poll – and below the 41% high point in 2012.
UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing prompts many to vent frustrations
UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting update
After UnitedHeathcare CEO Brian Thomspon was gunned down on a New York City street on Wednesday, investigators found "bizarre" engravings on the bullet casings left on the scene -- the words "deny," "depose" and "defend," according to law enforcement sources. Thompson ran the company’s insurance arm, and the words on the ammunition may have been a reference to strategies insurance companies use to try to avoid paying claims. FOX 5 New York's Hayley Fixler joined LiveNOW from FOX with the latest.
Gallup’s poll results, which were published on Friday, came days after the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson while he walked alone on a New York City sidewalk. The words "deny," "defend" and "depose" were found emblazoned on the ammunition, the Associated Press reported, citing police sources. The messages mimic the phrase "delay, deny, defend," which is commonly used by lawyers and insurance industry critics to describe tactics used to avoid paying for claims.
The phrase refers to insurers delaying payment, denying a claim and then defending their actions. Health insurers like UnitedHealthcare have become frequent targets of criticism from doctors and patients for denying claims or complicating access to care.
UnitedHealthcare provides coverage for more than 49 million Americans and brought in more than $281 billion in revenue last year. It is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the U.S. and manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.
In October, UnitedHealthcare was named along with Humana and CVS in a Senate report detailing how its denial rate for prior authorizations for some Medicare Advantage patients has surged in recent years.
Thompson’s shocking shooting death prompted many angry Americans on social media to share their negative experiences at the hands of health insurance companies in the U.S.
The insurer’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was holding its annual meeting in New York to update investors on its direction and expectations for the coming year. The company ended the conference after Thompson’s death.
The gunman remained at large on Friday and the reason for the killing remained unknown, with New York City police saying evidence firmly pointed to it being a targeted attack.