These toplines provide the complete survey questions and findings from the National Survey of Households Affected by Cancer conducted jointly by USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health by telephone between Aug. 1 and Sept. 14, 2006. The survey provides an in-depth look at how families cope with cancer, and in particular, examines problems of health insurance and health care costs through the lens of those who have experienced this major illness.

Toplines (.pdf)

These toplines provide the complete survey questions and findings from the National Survey of Enrollees in Consumer-Directed Health Plans conducted between June 21 and July 10, 2006. The survey looks at the views and experiences of people enrolled in consumer-directed health plans as compared to people with traditional health insurance.

Toplines (.pdf)

This survey summary provides an in-depth analysis of the National Survey of Enrollees in Consumer-Directed Health Plans conducted between June 21 and July 10, 2006. The survey looks at the views and experiences of people enrolled in consumer-directed health plans as compared to people with traditional health insurance.

Survey Summary (.pdf)

This Kaiser survey looks at the views and experiences of people enrolled in consumer-directed health plans as compared to people with traditional health insurance. Consumer-directed plans, which involve high deductibles coupled with tax-preferred saving options that consumers can use to pay for their care out of pocket, are intended to make consumers more active participants in decisions about their health care, including on cost issues.

The survey was conducted among 1,389 people, including 272 who are enrolled in consumer-directed health plans, plans with a high deductible that also involve a Health Savings Account or Health Reimbursement Arrangement, and 715 with more traditional employer-sponsored insurance. The margin of sampling error for the survey is plus or minus 7 percentage points for the consumer-directed group, and plus or minus 5 percentage points for the group with more traditional plans.

Summary

Chartpack

Toplines

Health Affairs Article Examines Enrollment in Medicare Drug Plans As The Benefit Approaches Its Second Year

An article by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers published as a Health Affairs Web Exclusive provides a comprehensive look at the 2006 private Medicare drug plan enrollment as the enrollment period for 2007 begins. The article examines organization- and plan-level market share, as well as enrollment by type of plan, benefit design, and gap coverage.

Health Affairs Web Exclusive (free access)

USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health National Survey of Households Affected by Cancer

This USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health National Survey provides an in-depth examination of how families cope with cancer and highlights problems of health insurance and health care costs through the lens of those who have experienced this major illness. The survey shows the disease’s devastating impact often extends beyond an individual patient to affect entire families — sometimes causing financial crises, strained relationships, and physical and mental health issues for those who love and care for people diagnosed with cancer.

The National Survey of Households Affected by Cancer is a nationally representative survey of 930 adults ages 18 years and older who say they, or another family member in their household, have been diagnosed with or treated for cancer in the past five years (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer). The survey was conducted by telephone between Aug. 1 and Sept. 14, 2006, and has a margin of sampling error of 4%.

The USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Survey Project is a three-way partnership. USA Today, Kaiser, and Harvard jointly design and analyze surveys examining health care issues. USA Today retains editorial control over the content published by the paper.

USA Today is featuring the survey results in a series of articles available online:“Cancer Care Often Uncoordinated” “Cancer Hurts Caregivers, Too”“Cancer Patients Keep on Working” “The Upside of Cancer: A New Outlook on Life”

News Release

Summary and Chartpack

Toplines

This chart pack provides data and analysis from the National Survey of Enrollees in Consumer-Directed Health Plans conducted between June 21 and July 10, 2006. The survey looks at the views and experiences of people enrolled in consumer-directed health plans as compared to people with traditional health insurance.

Chartpack (.pdf)

This analysis provides a profile of the 2007 Medicare Part D stand-alone drug plans that are being offered to the program’s 43 million beneficiaries for 2007 and highlights some of the changes in plans between 2006 and 2007.

It looks at premiums, covered drugs, the amount enrollees pay to fill a prescription, and other key features that would affect out-of-pocket costs and access to drugs for people with Medicare. The report describes the 1,875 stand-alone drug plans being offered for 2007 and provides a more in-depth look at the 10 plans available nationwide that had the largest number of enrollees in 2006.

The changes identified in the report underscore the importance for Medicare beneficiaries in reviewing key features of drug plans before enrolling in a plan for 2007. Medicare’s six-week open enrollment period runs from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31, 2006, and it represents the one opportunity this year for most people with Medicare to make changes to how they get their drug coverage.

The study was conducted by Jack Hoadley of Georgetown University, Elizabeth Hargrave and Katie Merrell of NORC at the University of Chicago, and Juliette Cubanski and Tricia Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Report (.pdf)

Embargoed for release until:Wednesday, November 1, 2006, 5:00 p.m. ET

For further information contact:Craig Palosky, KFF, (202) 347-5270 Robin Herman, HSPH, (617) 432-4388

NEJM Article Finds That Health Care Is Not Playing A Major Role In 2006 Congressional Elections, But Could Be A Factor In Selected Close Races

Voters Trust Democrats More Than Republicans On List Of Many Health Issues

A New England Journal of Medicine article to be published November 2 finds that health care is not likely to play a major role in next week’s Congressional elections, but could still be a factor in selected close races.

The article, written by Harvard School of Public Health Professor of Health Policy Robert J. Blendon, Sc.D, and Kaiser Family Foundation President Drew E. Altman, Ph.D., analyzes 11 national opinion surveys, including a fall Kaiser/Harvard survey that shows voters trust Democrats more than Republicans on a wide range of health care issues, from dealing with the uninsured and health care costs to the Medicare prescription drug law to stem cell research. Some of these issues have emerged as salient in individual Congressional races.

The article finds that health care overall ranks well below national security and economic concerns as issues most likely to determine the outcome of the November 7 Congressional elections. In addition, candidates’ stands on the issues are only one of many factors that affect voters’ decisions. Voters’ political philosophy, their party loyalty and the perceived character and experience of individual candidates all play a role. And, this year’s election may be more of a general referendum on President Bush and the Republican Congress than a vote about specific issues.

“Although Americans respond in polls that they are worried about the state of health care in the U.S. today, and especially about the rising cost of their own health insurance, these concerns are not breaking through as a top voting issue in the mid-term election,” Dr. Blendon and Dr. Altman write in the article.

The authors note that there is not a consensus among voters about health care priorities. When asked to say in their own words which health care issues were the most important in their Congressional vote, fewer than a quarter of registered voters in 2006 agreed on any particular issue. The two most frequently cited health care issues were health care costs, including the cost of prescription medicines (22%) and the uninsured/access to care (20%), followed by concerns about Medicare (12%).

Further diluting the mandate for reform right now, the electorate is split along party lines in terms of the saliency of health care to their vote, the study also found. Democratic voters were significantly more likely than Republicans to name at least one health care issue that was important to their vote. Democrats were most likely to cite issues related to the uninsured and access to care (30%), compared with 13% of Republicans. Republicans were most likely to cite issues related to health care costs (20%), comparable to the share of Democrats who cited the issue (23%). Nearly half of Republicans (49%) did not cite any issue, compared with one in three Democrats who did not cite any issue (34%).

“The new leaders of the Congress will find themselves facing scarce new federal revenues, deep partisan division over the direction of health policy and resistance by many conservative members to new health care spending plans,” the authors conclude. “In addition, as we move towards 2008, opposition by members of each party to the other’s health proposals in a presidential election season will intensify. In this environment, significant new health reform initiatives are unlikely, and the Congressional focus will be on incremental policy changes.”

The article, Voters And Health Care In The 2006 Election, is available here.

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The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation dedicated to providing information and analysis on health care issues to policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the general public. The Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.

Harvard School of Public Health is dedicated to advancing the public’s health through learning, discovery, and communication. More than 300 faculty members are engaged in teaching and training the 900-plus student body in a broad spectrum of disciplines crucial to the health and well being of individuals and populations around the world. Programs and projects range from the molecular biology of AIDS vaccines to the epidemiology of cancer; from risk analysis to violence prevention; from maternal and children’s health to quality of care measurement; from health care management to international health and human rights. For more information on the school visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu.

National Survey of Pharmacists 2006: Full Topline Results

These toplines provide additional findings from a 2006 national survey of pharmacists on their views and experiences on a wide range of health care issues.

Toplines (.pdf)