One leader noted that trust in the U.S. health care system is eroding, but that decline is not happening evenly across the system.
People largely trust individual clinicians, but they often distrust payers, drugmakers and hospital leadership, said Kristin Wikelius, chief program officer at United States of Care, a national health policy advocacy group.
This split in trust becomes especially apparent when patients step out of the exam room.
Vikelius noted that people often encounter conflicting answers about cost and coverage, leaving them feeling that health care's major institutions are opaque at best and self-serving at worst.
“Let's say someone needs to check in, then they have to figure out their insurance. Is this provider in-network? How much does it cost? They get a series of answers and then they go to the provider's office and they can't tell them how much it's going to cost, and they're not sure if they're in-network. So the feeling is that even if they try to do due diligence, there's never going to be an easy answer,” she explained.
For her, better transparency, especially around costs, and easier navigation will be key to helping rebuild confidence in the health care system.
She noted that people are unhappy with rising health care costs.
“Individuals themselves have no place to shift costs. If your insurance prices go up, you have no place to shift that cost – you have to find the money. That often means for people giving up the care they need,” Vikelius commented.
The expensive nature of health care leaves many people seeking care only when they feel they urgently need it, but this “sickness care” system is not what they want, she said. People want a system that is more preventative and maintains health rather than just treating disease.
Vikelius noted that this sentiment is reflected in part in public support for the Make America Healthy Again movement, noting the public's strong interest in holistic care, healthy food and avoiding unnecessary medical encounters.
She also highlighted how tying coverage to politics or employment can create huge anxiety for Americans.
Vikelius said people don't like the stability of their insurance to fluctuate because of new lawmakers or job changes, which is why United States of Care focuses on “durable” policies that can withstand political changes.
“We're looking for policies that will stand the test of time so that people don't feel like the coverage or care they receive is at risk because of an election. I think there's a lot of areas of continuity under the surface in terms of the changes we need to make in health care — real nonpartisan agreement and coalitions,” she declared.
The challenge now, Vikelius said, is to translate the public's desire for stability, transparency and preventive care into policies that actually achieve those goals.
Photo: Maskot, Getty Images
