Ten years after Obamacare became law with the promise it would cure all that ails the U.S. healthcare system, healthcare in America is as sick as it has ever been. A new Bankrate.com survey finds only 6% of respondents believe healthcare in the U.S. is "fine as is." As for who is equipped to fix the system, 40% of those surveyed believe Democrats can offer the best solution, 27% think Republicans would do the best job, and 20% aren't sure which party would do a better job.
The survey also reveals other interesting findings. "We found 1-in-3 Americans say that over the past year either they or a family member have declined to seek medical care of some kind, because of cost," says Mark Hamrick, senior analyst for Bankrate. "That could be anything from tests, to getting prescription drugs, visiting a doctor, elective surgery, all kinds of things."
Of those surveyed who had medical expenses last year, nearly a third resorted to desperate means to pay for them. "Remedies like taking on substantial debt, borrowing from friends or family, or borrowing from retirement savings," says Hamrick. Half of those with medical expenses said the costs were higher than expected, while only 10% said the costs were less.
These findings show that healthcare was already shaping up to be a major issue in this year's election, and now the coronavirus outbreak is likely to put an even bigger microscope on healthcare. "One can imagine that this discussion and debate about healthcare in the future over the long term is only going to become more intense and central to the political dialogue," says Hamrick.