The results of the National Health Poll, a survey of 1,200 registered voters conducted by Scott Rasmussen and RMG Research Inc. were released this week.
More than three-quarters of the respondents agreed to any degree that the health care system is "rigged" as a result of government institutions and medical insurance companies working together in ways that "raise prices and harm patients," the survey results showed. Just over half, however, felt that the solution to the insurance issues is putting patients in charge of their own medical decisions, and 13% of respondents weren't sure how to answer the question.
A large majority of poll participants agreed that the costs of medical services such as procedures and prescriptions should be disclosed to patients before the service is conducted: 86% said yes, 4% said no and 10% weren't sure how to answer.
"Health care providers say it is important to keep the cost of health care services, procedures, and medications private so that they can negotiate deals with insurance companies," the survey said. "The insurance companies then bundle the services for their customers and believe it saves customers money in the long run."
Participants were then asked if they thought the system of bundled services with non-disclosed prices should continue. Sixteen percent said yes, 67% said no and 17% were unsure.
When asked about medical care for people outside of their own family, just over half of those polled agreed that affordable health insurance should be a priority. Twenty-one percent argued that ensuring there are plenty of options for medical services was most important, and just over one-quarter believed that letting people compare the costs of services and medicine is the number one priority.
Almost half of the participants felt that it is more important to have better health insurance coverage and take home less money from their jobs than having less comprehensive coverage but more take-home pay. Thirty-four percent disagreed, and just over one-fifth weren't sure which should be more important.
The poll used a mixed method to question a varietal demographic of gender, age, education level, race, political affiliation and geographical location; and was slightly weighted in order to "reasonably reflect the nation's population of registered voters," the survey revealed. Other variables were used to ensure accurate representation of the population in the final sample.
The National Health Poll sought responses from its participants about several different health care topics, including the relationship between health insurance agencies and the government, health care prices and solutions to accessible health care issues.
The majority of respondents were interviewed via text or online, while 109 were queried using an automated phone polling method.
The survey questioned slightly more women than it did men: 53% of the weighted respondents were women. Additionally, the majority of weighted respondents were older than the age of 55. One-third of the survey takers were recorded as between 35 and 54 years of age, 24% were age 18 to 34, and 43% were in the oldest demographic of 55 and above.
The vast majority of those polled, 71%, were white; 11% were Hispanic, 12% were Black, and 6% were described as other.
Democratic respondents held a slight majority over those who identified themselves as Republican or other. Thirty-seven percent of respondents indicated they were Democrats, 32% were Republicans and 31% did not claim either party.
The full survey of poll questions and results can be viewed here.