APCblogit

Consumer confidence in health care rose in October

Consumer Confidence in Health Care Rose Sharply in October, Survey Finds

Americans' confidence in their health insurance coverage and access to health care rose significantly in October amid signs of economic recovery and congressional momentum on healthcare reform, a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds.

Based on a monthly survey of five hundred households conducted by the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Care Consumer Confidence Index: November 2009 (19 pages, PDF) found that the measure of Americans' confidence in health care jumped from 96.6 in September to 104.4 in October. The survey results reflect the highest level of confidence among consumers since tracking of the issue began in April 2009.

Fueling the uptick was a significant rise in Americans' confidence in the future of their health care, according to analysis by the University of Minnesota's State Health Access Data Assistance Center. The survey found that 23.3 percent of respondents were worried about losing their health insurance, down from 33.4 percent in September, while 43.4 percent were concerned about being able to afford health care in the future, down from 53.2 percent.

The survey also found that 71.9 percent of Americans believe that healthcare reform would improve or maintain their access to care, while 79.2 percent believe it is important for the Obama administration to include healthcare reform in its plans to address the economic crisis.

"During a month when there was considerable momentum around health reform, including the passage of a reform bill by the Senate Finance Committee, the American public appears to be more confident about the future of their health care," said RWJF president and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey. "Americans of every ideology know that our healthcare system needs to be fixed and want some type of reform."

AAFP: Medicare reform and elderly and disabled patients

Statement attributable to:
Lori Heim, MD
President
American Academy of Family Physicians


“Elderly and disabled Americans have scored a victory with the House passage of the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act (HR 3961). 

“This legislation will help create stability within the Medicare physician payment system and reduce physicians’ annual uncertainty of whether their medical practices can afford to continue accepting Medicare beneficiaries. 

“By replacing the flawed formula on which Medicare physician payment is now based with a system that more appropriately pays for patient evaluation and management services, HR 3961 promotes comprehensive, coordinated care that’s been shown to improve patients’ health and help rein in costs.

“This legislation builds a good foundation on which comprehensive, meaningful and sustainable health care reform can be built and assures Medicare patients that they will get the care they need, when they need it, from the most appropriate physician.”

Editor’s note: To arrange an interview with Lori Heim, MD, contact Leslie Champlin at 800-274-2237, Ext. 5224, or lchampli@aafp.org.

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Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents more than 94,600 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care. 

Nearly one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 208 million office visits each year - nearly 83 million more than the next largest medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. 

In the increasingly fragmented world of health care where many medical specialties limit their practice to a particular organ, disease, age or sex, family physicians are dedicated to treating the whole person across the full spectrum of ages. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. 

To learn more about the American Academy of Family Physicians and about the specialty of family medicine, please visit aafp.org.

For more information about the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care and downloadable multi-media on family medicine and health care, visit the AAFP Media Center.

For more information about health care, health conditions, and wellness, please visit familydoctor.org.

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A new bone health campaign from the US Dept of Health and Human Services targets young girls.

Introduction to the Patient Centered Medical Home

ACOG Releases New Cervical Screening Guidelines into Politically Charged Environment

 New clinical management guidelines for cervical cytology screening advise that screening should begin at age 21, not at the age of first sexual intercourse. The guidelines, released in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' ACOG Practice Bulletin, say the change is "based on the potential for adverse effects associated with follow-up of young women." Initially, screening is recommended every 2 years. For women over 30 who have had three consecutive negative screenings, screening may occur at 3-year intervals. Women with certain risk factors may require more frequent screenings: those infected with HIV, the immunosuppressed, those with in utero exposure to DES, women with a history of cancer or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Screening can be discontinued for most women between 65 and 70, or who have had a hysterectomy for benign indications and no history of high-grade CIN. The guidelines also give recommendations on HPV screening. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post report that release of the cervical screening guidelines and those on mammography within the same week was a coincidence. Both recognized that the ACOG guidelines would add fuel to the political firestorm over health care reform.