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KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
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The Kaiser Family Foundation Survey of Pennsylvania Residents measures Pennsylvanians’ opinions about a selection of health issues, including which issues they believe state policymakers should prioritize, opinions about prescription painkiller abuse, and experiences accessing and paying for health care. The survey was conducted March 7-15, 2016 among a representative sample of 804 adults ages 18 and over living in Pennsylvania.
The March Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that health care is one of many issues that will be important to voters in the Presidential election, trailing concerns about the economy and jobs but leading concerns about immigration. Health care ranks higher for Democratic voters than for Republican and independent voters and is a higher priority for women than for men. Health care costs remain on the forefront of the minds of both the uninsured and voters, with nearly half of uninsured Americans saying that cost is the main reason they haven’t gotten health insurance and voters mentioning cost when asked what specifically about health care will affect their presidential vote. In light of the two women’s health cases before the Supreme Court, this month’s survey examines how the public, and women specifically, feel about the state of women’s reproductive health policy. About one-third of Americans say ‘there is a wide-scale effort to limit women’s reproductive health choices and services, such as abortion, family planning, and contraception’ and a majority of Democratic voters name Hillary Clinton as the candidate for president they trust to represent their view of women’s reproductive health choices and services, while Republican voters don’t coalesce around any one candidate.
About One Third of Americans Perceive Wide-Scale Effort to Limit Women’s Reproductive Health Choices and Services; Most Who Do Say the Effort is a ‘Bad Thing’ Health care is one of many issues that will be important for voters in the presidential election, particularly for Democrats and women, finds the March Kaiser Health Tracking Poll.
Following Flint Water Crisis, Nearly Half Worry about Their Community's Water Supply Almost Half of Public is Concerned about a Widespread Zika Outbreak in U.S. This Year The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds the public as divided as the remaining presidential candidates over their vision for the future of the nation's health care system.
The February Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds Americans are divided on possible changes to the current health care system with 36 percent of Americans saying policymakers should build on the existing law to improve affordability and access to care, 16 percent saying they would like to see the health care law repealed and not replaced, 13 percent saying the current law should be repealed and replaced with a Republican-sponsored alternative, and 24 percent saying the U.S. should establish guaranteed universal coverage through a single government plan. When asked specifically about universal coverage through a single government plan, half say they favor the idea while 43 percent say they oppose it, and some opinions swayed after hearing counterarguments. Opinions also differ depending on the terms used to describe the idea of expanding health insurance coverage to all Americans. This month’s poll also examine awareness and attitudes of the top health policy news stories- the unsafe lead levels in Flint Michigan’s water and the Zika virus outbreak.
This partnership survey from The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation explores what feminism means in today's America, providing a detailed look at the complex views that both women and men hold about the word and the social movement that bears its name. The survey assesses the public's priorities for improving women's lives, their views on the relevance of the women's movement, the role of government in promoting gender equality, their beliefs about discrimination, levels of social and civic engagement, and views on political and policy issues such as equal pay, birth control coverage, and abortion.
Despite the ongoing debate between Republican lawmakers and President Obama on the future of the 2010 health care law, the January Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is only one of many issues that may impact voting decisions. While there has been recent focus on improving the value of health care, those with insurance under 65 years old largely say the health care services they receive are at least a good value for what they pay for them. Also, in the final days of the 2016 open enrollment period, many uninsured are largely disengaged from the health care system and opportunities for coverage, with large majorities being unaware of the date for the upcoming deadline to enroll or of the fine for not having health insurance in 2016.
This is an abbreviated topline for the upcoming January 2016 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll. It contains the survey questions addressed in Drew Altman's column, "Candidate Policy Plans Resonate More With Democrats. Here’s Why," for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank.
The Kaiser Family Foundation has tracked public opinion on global health issues in-depth since 2009. This most recent survey examines views on U.S. spending on health in developing countries and perceptions of barriers and challenges to making progress on the issue. Two-thirds of Americans (65 percent) overall and majorities of Democrats, independents and Republicans alike, say that the United States should play at least a major role in world affairs, including roughly one in five overall (18 percent) who say the U.S. should take the leading role. The survey also finds a general skepticism on the part of the American people when it comes to the effectiveness of global health spending, with seven in ten saying the “bang for the buck” of U.S. spending in this area is only fair or poor, and more than half believing that spending more on global health efforts won’t lead to meaningful progress (a share that has grown since 2012). Although many Americans have concerns about the value of global health spending, six in ten say the U.S. spends too little (26 percent) or about the right amount (34 percent) on global health, and three in ten say it spends too much. Most also recognize benefits to such spending, both for Americans at home as well as for people and communities in developing countries.
To date, there has been little research providing a quantitative look at the causes of medical bill problems and the impacts they have on people’s families, their finances, and their access to health care. To fill this gap, the Kaiser Family Foundation and The New York Times conducted an in-depth survey with 1,204 adults ages 18-64 who report that they or someone in their household had problems paying or an inability to pay medical bills in the previous 12 months.
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