Who the public blames for rising healthcare costs

Prescription drug companies shoulder the most blame for rising healthcare costs, according to a recent  Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

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The poll, conducted Aug. 23-28 among 1,201 U.S. adults, found that 78 percent of respondents cited drug company profits as  a “major reason” for rising healthcare costs. That compares to 62 percent who said the same in February 2014.

But respondents didn’t solely point to drug companies. Seventy-one percent cited fraud and waste in healthcare as a “major reason” people’s healthcare costs are climbing.

Respondents also cited insurance companies’ profits (70 percent), hospital charges (71 percent) and the often-high expense of new medical technologies (62 percent) as major reasons. Lower down on the list was charges from physicians (49 percent), an aging population (47 percent) and the ACA (39 percent).

Read the full poll findings here.

 

More articles on healthcare costs:

AMA releases 335 coding changes for 2019
Pediatric group director pens book on navigating the patient financial experience
This week’s 5 must-reads for hospital RCM leaders

 

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