Jun

Demographics Vary On Opinions of Health Insurance Reform

admin

Demographics, Health, Insurance, Opinions, reform, Vary

Demographics Vary On Opinions of Health Insurance Reform

The issue of healthcare reform affects all Americans, regardless of age. However, it will have different impacts on each demographic. Those impacts are borne out by a recent poll.

According to the University of Iowa, their recent survey found that a slight majority of middle-aged respondents favor health insurance reform. The 35 to 54 age group includes the bulk of Baby Boomers, as well as the beginnings of Generation X. 53% of them approve the legislation.

Why would those in middle age be especially open to reform? They are the ones who are most susceptible to the downfalls of the former status quo. 35-to-54 year olds are more likely to have pre-existing conditions that would prevent them from buying a health insurance policy on the open market. With the recession, more of them have lost their employer-sponsored health benefits–or had to pay for expensive COBRA policies.

Unlike younger Americans (just 28 percent of 18-to-34-year olds support the law), middle-aged men and women tend to think more about their families and stop believing that they are invincible. Therefore, they recognize the necessity of having a reliable health insurance plan.

In fact, many baby boomers are so concerned with becoming uninsured that they are willing to suffer through the disadvantages the legislation brings. Nearly two-thirds of this demographic believe that the law will increase their out-of-pocket expenses. Most of them also think that the quality of coverage will not improve. Despite those issues, the respondents appear to consider them better than the alternative.

Since they are further away from being eligible for Medicare, the 35-to-54 demographic considers the potential of being unable to access affordable health insurance coverage as more pressing than the possible cuts to Medicare. Support for healthcare reform ranges in the 30 to 35 percent range for those 55 and older.

(Image: teague_o under CC 3.0)