UNIVERSITY TOWN HALL SURVEY
March 22, 2006 - (22 Universities Combined)
NOTE: TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS = 755.
Demographic Questions
D1. Are you male or female?
| Male | 40.53% |
| Female | 59.21 |
| No response | 0.26 |
D2. Are you Hispanic or Latino?
| Yes | 4.24% |
| No | 94.83 |
| No response | 0.93 |
D3. How old are you?
| Under 25 | 17.35% |
| 25-44 | 36.03 |
| 45-64 | 36.95 |
| 65 and over | 9.54 |
| No response | 0.13 |
D4. Which of these groups best represents your race? (Check all that apply.)
(NOTE: The percentages are among people who provided a response to at least one race category. N=742 out of 755)
| Race | Yes |
| White | 80.46% |
| Black or African American | 6.47 |
| Asian | 9.30 |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 0.54 |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 0.54 |
| Other | 4.31 |
D5. What is the highest grade or year of school you completed?
| Elementary (grades 1-8) or less | 0.40% |
| Some high school | 0.26 |
| High school graduate or GED | 0.93 |
| Some college | 10.86 |
| Associate Degree | 1.59 |
| Bachelor’s Degree | 31.79 |
| Masters' Degree | 30.99 |
| Doctoral Degree | 22.52 |
| No response | 0.66 |
D6. What is your primary source of health insurance?
| Employer-based insurance | 67.02% |
| Self-purchased insurance | 10.86 |
| Medicare | 7.28 |
| Medicaid | 0.53 |
| Veteran's | 1.32 |
| Other | 7.55 |
| None | 4.11 |
| Not sure | 0.79 |
| No response | 0.53 |
D7. What is your employment status?
| Self-employed | 5.17% |
| Employed, working full-time | 46.75 |
| Employed, working part-time | 17.88 |
| Not employed currently/looking for work | 5.30 |
| Homemaker | 1.32 |
| Retired | 7.81 |
| Other | 15.10 |
| No response | 0.66 |
Discussion Questions
1. Which one of these statements do you think BEST describes the U.S. health care system today?
| It is in a state of crisis | 47.42% |
| It has major problems | 49.01 |
| It has minor problems | 3.05 |
| It does not have any problems | -- |
| No response | 0.53 |
2. Which one of the following do you think is the MOST important reason to have health insurance?
| To pay for everyday medical expenses | 30.73% |
| To protect against high medical costs | 63.05 |
| No opinion | 1.59 |
| No response | 3.58 |
| Other | 1.06 |
3. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement about health insurance coverage and public policy in the United States? By public policy, we mean a public goal set out in federal or state law. “It should be public policy (that is, a public goal set out in federal or state law) that all Americans have affordable health care insurance or other coverage.”
| Strongly Agree | 76.69% |
| Agree | 18.15 |
| Neutral | 1.59 |
| Disagree | 0.66 |
| Strongly Disagree | 2.12 |
| No response | 0.79 |
4. Health insurance coverage can be organized in different ways. Which statement best describes your views on how health care coverage should be organized?
| Provide coverage for particular groups of people (for example, employees, people who are elderly or cannot work because of disability, or people with very low incomes) as the case is now. | 7.68% |
| Provide coverage for everyone, for a defined level of benefits (either by expanding the current system or by creating a new system). | 89.80 |
| No response | 1.99 |
| Other | 0.53 |
5. Should everyone be required to enroll in basic health care coverage, either private or public?
| Yes | 82.38% |
| No | 15.10 |
| No response | 2.38 |
| Other | 0.13 |
6. Should some people be responsible for paying more than others?
| Yes | 81.99% |
| No | 14.97 |
| No response | 2.78 |
| Other | 0.26 |
7. What criteria should be used for making some people pay more?
(NOTE: The percentages are among people who provided a response to at least one reason. N=738 out of 755.)
| Reason | Yes |
| None-everyone should pay the same | 12.06% |
| Health behaviors | 43.63 |
| Income | 70.60 |
| Age | 6.91 |
| Prior or current health conditions | 7.72 |
8. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about controlling the rising costs of health care in America? (NOTE: The percentages are among people who responded a response to at least one statement. N=672 out of 755.)
| Statement
(S trongly Agree, Agree , Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree |
SA
(5) |
A
(4) |
N
(3) |
D
(2) |
SD
(1) |
| Health plans/insurers should use financial incentives (such as higher payments) to hospitals and doctors that provide efficient, high-quality care. | 23.81% |
47.32% |
15.33% |
10.12% |
3.42% |
| Health plans/insurers should not pay for high-cost technologies or treatments that have not been proven to be safe and medically effective. | 22.02 |
36.01 |
20.39 |
18.60 |
2.98 |
| Health plans/insurers should not pay for high-cost technologies or treatments even if they have been proven to be safe and medically effective if less expensive yet equally safe and medically effective technologies or treatments are available. | 22.32 |
39.73 |
15.03 |
15.92 |
6.99 |
| Health plans/insurers should use financial incentives (such as adjusting premiums and copayments) to encourage consumers to use more efficient and high-quality providers. | 16.52 |
43.90 |
19.64 |
13.69 |
6.25 |
| Health plans/insurers should use financial incentives to encourage consumers to pursue healthy lifestyles and prevention. | 43.90 |
38.99 |
9.97 |
4.61 |
2.53 |
| Governments should set limits on prices for health care products, such as prescription drugs or medical devices. | 33.18 |
34.23 |
14.43 |
11.90 |
6.10 |
| Governments should make it harder to qualify for enrollment in their programs that provide health coverage or health care services. | 1.64 |
3.27 |
13.99 |
34.97 |
46.13 |
| Governments should improve the administration and efficiency of their health care programs. | 54.02 |
34.97 |
7.44 |
2.08 |
1.49 |
| The private sector should increase efforts to improve the efficiency of health care providers that are paid through private insurance. | 32.59 |
41.82 |
18.45 |
5. 36 |
1.79 |
| Doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers should invest more in computerized information systems to monitor and improve health care quality, reduce errors, and improve administrative efficiencies. | 41.67 |
42.11 |
11.90 |
2.83 |
1. 49 |
9. There are different ways to assure coverage for all Americans. Remembering that we all pay for the cost of health care through insurance premiums, taxes, or consumer prices, how much do you agree or disagree with the following options?
| Statement | SA
(5) |
A
(4) |
N
(3) |
D
(2) |
SD
(1) |
| Offer uninsured Americans income tax deductions, credits, or other financial assistance to help them purchase private health insurance on their own. | 10.42% |
24.85% |
17.71% |
31.10% |
15.70% |
| Expand state government programs for low-income people, such as Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, to provide coverage for more people without health insurance. | 26.49 |
45.09 |
13.10 |
11.01 |
4.32 |
| Rely on free market competition among doctors, hospitals, other health care providers and insurance companies, rather than having government define benefits and set prices. | 4.91 |
11.16 |
15.18 |
35.12 |
33.63 |
| Open up enrollment in national federal programs like Medicare or the federal employees’ health benefit program. | 21.28 |
41.52 |
23.36 |
10.42 |
3.42 |
| Require businesses to offer health insurance to their employees. | 18.15 |
28.57 |
20.83 |
24.11 |
8.33 |
| Expand neighborhood health clinics. | 34.08 |
44.64 |
15.92 |
3.42 |
1.93 |
| Create a national health plan, financed by taxpayers, in which all Americans would get their health insurance. | 50.89 |
26.79 |
9.23 |
7.14 |
5.95 |
| Require that all Americans enroll in basic health care coverage, either private or public. | 37.65 |
36.01 |
12.80 |
9.52 |
4.02 |
| Increase flexibility given states in how they use federal funds (such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program) to maximize coverage. | 15.33 |
42.86 |
22.32 |
13.54 |
5.95 |
| Expand current tax incentives available to employers and their employees to encourage them to offer insurance to more workers and their families. | 19.79 |
40.77 |
18.01 |
14.73 |
6.70 |
10. Considering the rising cost of health care, which of the following should be the MOST important priorities for public spending on health and health care in America? Choose up to 3.
NOTE: 626 respondents answered at least one of the questions below. The percentages are only of those 626 respondents.
Yes |
|
| Guaranteeing that there are enough health care providers, especially in inner cities and rural areas. | 23.16% |
| Investing in public health programs to prevent disease, promote health lifestyles, and protect the public during epidemics or disasters. | 72.20 |
| Guaranteeing that all Americans have health insurance. | 59.58 |
| Funding the development of computerized health information to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. | 20.45 |
| Funding medical education to ensure that we have enough high-quality medical professionals and health care workers. | 13.58 |
| Funding programs that help eliminate problems in access to or quality o fcare for minorities. | 20.29 |
| Funding biomedical and technological research. | 10.70 |
| Guaranteeing that all Americans get health care when they need it, though some form of private or public program, including "safety net" programs for those who cannot afford care otherwise. | 65.81 |
11. How much do you agree or disagree with the following possible trade-off?
NOTE: 621 respondents answered at least one of the questions below. The percentages are only of those 621 respondents.
| Statement | SA (5) |
A
(4) |
N (3) |
D (2) |
SD (1) |
No response |
| Accepting a significant waiting time for non-critical care to get a 10% reduction in health care costs. | 9.66% |
36.71% |
21.42% |
23.19% |
6.60% |
2.25% |
| Paying a higher deductible in your insurance for more choice of doctors and hospitals. | 9.02 |
35.75 |
22.22 |
24.32 |
6.92 |
1.77 |
| Paying more in taxes to have basic health insurance coverage for all. | 34.62 |
39.94 |
9.66 |
10.63 |
4.03 |
1.13 |
| Expanding federal programs to cover more people, but provide fewer services to persons currently covered by those programs. | 5.15 |
19.32 |
24.15 |
38.33 |
10.63 |
2.42 |
| Limiting coverage for certain end-of-life care services of questionable value in order to provide more at-home and comfort care for the dying. | 27.54 |
35.27 |
20.61 |
11.27 |
3.06 |
2.25 |