Poll Reveals Americans Want Change in Health System

Access to care, better coordination between different health providers and better flow of health information were among chief complaints of over 80 percent of Americans who think the U.S. health system is in need of a complete overhaul.

Harris International noted the recent results of the poll, just as another poll found that health insurance costs have doubled for Americans since 1996.

"It’s clear that our health care system isn’t giving Americans the health care they need and deserve," said Karen Davis, president of the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund, which commissioned the survey.

The poll studied responses from a random sample of 1,004 U.S. adults in May. Thirty-two percent agreed the system needed complete rebuilding, while 50 percent thought it required fundamental change.

These views were similar regardless of income and insurance status, with 81 percent of those who were insured for the prior year and 89 percent who were uninsured during the prior year calling for either fundamental change or complete rebuilding.

Overall, only 16 percent of adults said the health care system works relatively well and needed only minor reform.

About 47 million Americans have no health insurance, and major presidential candidates Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain have vowed to address the growing problems of the U.S. health system.

Also released were findings of a recent report suggesting ways to improve the U.S. system, such as offering incentives to health providers forgiving high quality care, and offering patients incentives for seeking out better health providers.

Inefficiencies and rising costs have resulted in a 100 percent increase in health premiums for private sector employers and their workers in just over a decade, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Its national survey, released on Thursday, found the average premium for a family insurance plan rose to $11,381 in 2006, from $4,954 in 1996, while the average cost for a single premium rose to $4,118 from $1,992.

Employers paid for most of the increases, but employees saw their share rise as well, climbing to an average of $2,890 for family coverage in 2006 from $1,275 in 1996, and an average of $788 per year for single coverage, up from $342.