Healthcare Costs Are Negatively Impacting Patients

Providers see costs as one of the biggest barriers to care their patients face, sharing stories of how rising costs have forced people to ration their medication or delay seeking treatment only to put themselves in the hospital as a result. 

• “People take their medicine every other day, stagger it, maybe stretch it out. I’ve seen that. I’ve seen just avoiding healthcare altogether, just not making appointments, not following through, not following up.” – WI woman, nurse practitioner

• “I had one patient that she was saying that her health insurance was so high she couldn’t go to the doctor. So she started researching stuff on her phone to try to find out what to take. And when she did that, she ended up putting herself in the hospital.” – GA woman, nursing assistant

Providers Are Noticing Negative Impacts of the Republican Tax Law

Americans are already feeling the impacts of the Republican budget cuts which skyrocketed the cost of healthcare for millions, and providers are taking notice. 

• “In Congress, the insurance was like, okay, we’re going to up premiums, we’re going to start cutting funding for resources and Medicaid. You started to notice that in November, December, and it really started making people realize in around January that people are getting impacted.” – MI man, physician assistant

• “I have a gentleman that just lost his Medicaid and no longer has the ability to pay his caregivers. So he’s going to be spending a lot more time in the hospital until they can find a solution for him.” – PA woman, occupational therapist

Providers Feel the Healthcare System is “Terminally Ill” 

Healthcare providers had bleak diagnoses for the state of American healthcare, with many noting that a major overhaul is needed in order to fix the system. 

• “[The system has] to be amputated and cut their limbs off to start….That’s disturbing, but yeah, it needs reform. It needs total reform and we need billionaires to not be billionaires.” – WI woman, nurse practitioner

• “Bipolar…We need to stop sending billions and billions of dollars to other countries to fund wars rather than supplying our citizens here in the United States with proper healthcare.” – MI woman, patient care tech

Healthcare Providers Overwhelmingly Blame Corporate Greed for the Dismal State of the American Healthcare System

Insurance companies are seen as the major villain of the healthcare system and providers want their elected leaders to do something about it. 

• “Hospitals are managed by business people and all they see is numbers and the insurance reimbursement. And so they make the providers–I have a timeline. There’s a timer on how quickly I can see somebody, do the labs and then discharge them. I think that that’s one of the biggest problems why a lot of patients feel like they’re not listening. It’s because the providers are getting rushed.” – MI man, physician assistant

• “There’s just a bunch of greed and corruption that’s tied up in these companies, and these companies are only worried about making record-breaking profits.” –NC man, registered nurse

Democrats Have An Advantage On Fighting For Affordable Healthcare

Healthcare providers were troubled by President Trump’s recent comments calling Medicare and Medicaid “scams,” and many saw Democrats as more likely to fight for lower healthcare costs.  

• “I feel like with Democrats since they’re, I guess, more towards socialism, they want universal healthcare. They want good healthcare outcomes for everybody.” – NC man, registered nurse

• “For somebody who’s never ever had to worry about money at all probably his whole life, healthcare could seem little to him. But to somebody who’s reliant on their insurance to pick up the medication, I can assure you it’s not little or scammy to them.” – PA woman, recovery specialist

Effective Communication On Healthcare Must Meet People Where They Are

Communicators should remember healthcare is deeply personal, and for many the impact of costly healthcare or complicated rules can be severe. Leaders must acknowledge many Americans’ deep frustrations with the system and speak to these very real everyday issues people are facing. Americans want elected leaders to fight for accessible and affordable healthcare; they don’t know specific details of healthcare plans or policies, and don’t want a fight over semantics.

• “I feel like healthcare should be made affordable for people regardless of their income…The government should offer more subsidies for prescription medications, because I’ve heard people say that insulin, which is crucial for diabetics, it can cost $800 a month.” – NC man, registered nurse

• [Referring to terms like Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, universal healthcare, Medicare for All, single-payer, public option] “[Those terms are] just terminology.” – PA woman, paramedic

Part 1 of this report covered the first two groups: those insured through the ACA marketplace and those who are uninsured. Part 2 here summarizes the findings from our patient-facing healthcare provider group.