More than six-in-ten of those surveyed say health insurance in this country is going in the wrong direction and they do not anticipate improvement in 2017
 
Washington, D.C. (November 14, 2016) – The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) today released a national poll of registered voters living with diabetes that shows high levels of anxiety regarding affordability of and access to health care. The survey also found that a majority of Americans with diabetes believe health insurance in the United States is going in the wrong direction, and they are not optimistic about improvement in the coming year.  
 
The national poll, conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of PFCD, surveyed over 3,500 registered voters living with diabetes from May 13, 2016, through September 6, 2016. The margin of error is plus or minus two percent.
 

These findings underscore what we have been hearing for several years – continued challenges with insurance affordability and access are preventing patients from properly preventing and controlling chronic conditions like diabetes,” said PFCD Chairman Ken Thorpe, Ph.D. “It is becoming increasingly clear where we need to focus our efforts to improve the quality of health care coverage. This means making sure we work with policymakers in the public and private sector to stop the rising costs of premiums and other out-of-pocket costs. 

 
The survey’s key findings include:

• Near majority concerned about affordability and out-of-pocket costs. Among health care concerns noted, affordability of care ranked highest with premium increases and higher out-of-pocket costs for medications ranked as the top costs impacting family budgets. Additionally, four in ten say their out-of-pocket costs for doctor visits or hospitals stays (44%) and vision or dental care (46%) have increased in the last year 
•  Many report negative experiences and difficulty accessing care. More than half of those surveyed (56%) reported that they or someone they know had insurance not cover a treatment recommended by a doctor. 
•  Adults with diabetes are pessimistic about improvement but favor reforms to address access issues. Most adults living with diabetes (72%) expect their coverage will get worse or stay the same in the next 12 months. When asked what policymakers should make top priorities for change, 65 percent of adults with diabetes want government officials to make holding health insurance companies accountable for inappropriate denials of care a top priority.

The full toplines can be viewed here data.fightchronicdisease.org. 
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The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) is an international coalition of hundreds of patient, provider, community, business and labor groups, and health policy experts, committed to raising awareness of the number one cause of death, disability and rising health care costs: chronic disease. Learn more by visiting www.FightChronicDisease.org.