HAYS, Kan. - Do Kansans want lawmakers to improve health care? A recent survey of Kansans, conducted by the non-partisan Docking Institute of Public Affairs, addressed that question as well as others. The survey was designed to provide insights about what Kansans think about Kansas.
One particularly interesting aspect of the study involved the collection of opinions about the general state of health care in Kansas, as well as opinions on the government's role in ensuring that all citizens have adequate health care coverage. Half of our state's citizens think that health care in our state needs 'major change.'
Altogether, 83 percent of Kansans believe that health care in our state needs to change. A small number, only one-sixth of Kansans, expressed that health care in Kansas is 'adequate.'
Regarding the role of government in making changes in health care, over half of Kansans (56 per cent) said they either 'agree' or 'strongly agree' that the government should be responsible for the health care of all citizens.
Concern about health care cut across all income levels. Within the largest group, those that believe health care should change, all income levels were represented. This survey disrupts the myth that only the lower income citizens want health care reform. Indeed, the majority of respondent at all income levels expressed that health care in Kansas needs to be improved in order to be adequate.
While the number of people wanting minor versus major changes increases slightly with income level, the number of citizens that want change at the $35,000 annual income level is roughly equivalent to the number of citizens that want change at the $75,000 and above income level.
Kansans at all income levels want change.
According to a 2008 report by the National Women's Law Center, typical 25-year-old women in Kansas paid between 6% and 45% more than 25-year-old men for the same insurance market or health plans. Older women faced similar, and often even greater disparities. 16% of women in Kansas report not visiting a doctor due to high costs.
Though some states offer protections against using gender to determine premiums, Kansas law does not protect women from gender discrimination. In Kansas, insurance companies can charge women more.
The largest group among both men and women is the group that wants major changes in health care.
54 percent of women believe that health care needs 'major' changes while 45 percent of men believe that 'major' changes are needed. Though the Docking study does not inquire about why the disparity exists between males and females, perhaps the higher insurance premiums for women is a factor.
It was also no surprise to find that, altogether, the Docking Institute's 2009 study shows that 85 percent of Kansas women believe that health care in Kansas needs to change.
The primary mission of the Docking Institute is to facilitate effective public policy decision-making among governmental and non-profit entities. It's 2009 telephone survey of random adult residents was conducted between April and September. 2,082 households were contacted via telephone and 1,220 geographically diverse respondents completed the interview.
"We want to give Kansans a voice," said Dr. Gary Brinker, director of the Docking Institute. "National polls regularly take the pulse of Americans on vital issues, but they rarely focus on issues of particular interest to Kansans, so the opinions of Kansans on many issues have remained mostly a matter of speculation. Until now, that is."
Post your own comment here