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Survey: Seniors prefer Medicare to private plansYounger Americans more open to HMOs, PPOs
From Kate Snow
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As lawmakers on Capitol Hill debate plans to provide prescription drug coverage to older Americans, a new survey released Thursday finds a majority of people older than 65 prefer the existing government-run Medicare program to proposed private plans. Sixty-three percent said they would prefer Medicare. When those who prefer Medicare were asked why, about a third of them said it was because they "trust Medicare more than private plans." The survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, however, found Americans age 18 to 49 years are much more willing to embrace changes in Medicare, with 60 percent saying they would prefer private plans -- nearly the same percentage of seniors who prefer Medicare. People from 50 to 64 fall in between, with 44 percent preferring the private plans. The survey asked respondents if they would prefer, after retiring, to get their health insurance benefits from the current government Medicare program or from a private health plan such as an HMO or PPO. When it comes to prescription drug coverage, 55 percent of those older than 65 said they would prefer a plan that offers drug coverage by adding a new benefit to Medicare. Only 29 percent of seniors said they would prefer a plan that offers drug coverage separately through private plans. Both the House and the Senate are considering plans that would provide drug benefits through private plans affiliated with Medicare. Support for drug coverageWhen asked specifically about prescription drug coverage, however, the views of younger Americans were more similar to older Americans. Among people aged 18-64, 56 percent said they would prefer to see drug coverage added as a new benefit to the Medicare program. Only 36 percent said they would prefer drug coverage offered separately through private plans. About three-quarters of Americans, according to the survey, agree that the lack of drug coverage is a major problem facing Medicare. But Americans seem to be growing frustrated with inaction on Capitol Hill. Compared with 1999, about twice as many people surveyed in 2003 say that neither Democrats nor Republicans are doing a good job at dealing with prescription drug coverage for seniors. When asked who they trust more to "do a better job of handling the Medicare prescription drug issue" an equal number of Americans answered "President Bush" and "Democrats in Congress." However, more respondents said they trust Democrats in Congress than Republicans in Congress. The survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health polled 1,424 adults aged 18 and older. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation bills itself as an "independent philanthropy focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation."
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