Cost Of Drugs Is Now Biggest Health Care Concern

The Kaiser Family Foundation has completed it's latest survey of Americans on their health care concerns. The chart above shows that the cost of drugs is now the biggest concern of all groups. The number one concern is to make sure drugs are affordable to people with a chronic health condition  -- general public (77%), Democrats (85%), Independents (75%), and Republicans (73%). And for the general public (63%), Democrats (74%), and Independents (60%), the second greatest concern is to lower the cost of all drugs. The second greatest concern for Republicans is to repeal Obamacare.

But the most interesting part of the survey to me is shown in the charts below. It looks like the American people are getting used to Obamacare, and beginning to realize that, while it is not perfect, it is an improvement over what we had before.

When the reform was first passed, a significant majority wanted the requirement that everyone either have insurance or pay a fine to be repealed. That is not true anymore. People have started to realize that this requirement is necessary to keep insurance costs down (and that the fines would only apply to a small minority). Only 38% now want the requirement repealed.

And the same goes for Obamacare in general. While 58% of Republicans still claim to want the Affordable Care Act repealed, only 37% of Americans agree with them. The longer the law stays in effect, the more the public likes it (and doesn't want it to go away).