It seem like every day we're bombarded with some sort of poll. On the topic of health care reform, there's been literally hundreds of polls over the past twelve months. Many of those polls have varying questions to test the poll takers perception of health care reform on many different levels, as well as, gauge the overall validity. However, one thing is certain about the results, they've been pretty consistent in showing that a majority of Americans aren't in favor of a government-run option for health care reform. So, I decided to put together my own poll of Lehigh Valley owners and entrepreneurs to see where they fell in relation to these national polls. Some of the results did, in fact, surprise me. However, by-and-large the results were in line with what I suspected.
Now, before I get into the individual results, a little bit of a disclaimer. I'm not proposing that this sampling is scientific or even broad-based in it's application to be representative of all Americans. However, I do feel the results of local Lehigh Valley owners of small businesses are pertinent and valuable to share. Here's how the numbers shape up: 614 individuals were sent the email to take this survey and out of those, 44 actually took it with about a 14% participation rate. Not scientific by any means but helpful overall.
For example, when asked whether or not they favored reforming the existing health insurance industry or replacing it with a government run option similar to Medicare, an overwhelming majority (88.64%) chose - reform the existing insurance industry. I found this very helpful because when you listen to those in Washington who are trying to sell this to the American people, they do it with demagoguery and attacks of evil health insurance companies. However, this survey question illustrates that Lehigh Valley business owners trust the existing system enough to want to create reforms from within. This is a more constructive way to go about reform; building upon the strengths and reforming what's not working. Make no mistake, there's a lot of good in the current system. When respondents were ask to further clarify this by answering the question of who they felt more confident in managing and overseeing the health insurance industry, government or the private insurance carriers, overwhelmingly they chose the private sector by a margin of 80.95%.
Finally, when respondents were asked to identify the single biggest factor affecting health care today, pre-existing conditions, cost containment, malpractice liability, access to health insurance or affordable health insurance, none (0) chose access as being an issue at all. Doesn't this surprise you since all we've heard for over a year is that Americans are denied access to health insurance? Now, affordable health insurance did top the list at 38.64% of respondents. The important take away from this is that access and affordability don't necessarily go hand-in-hand.
As you review the results of this survey, you come away with a pretty clear picture that Lehigh Valley small businesses would rather not scrap the health insurance industry altogether but rather change what's not working. Share your feelings on health insurance reform by emailing me at bknauss@employeemployersolutions.com or visit my website at www.employeemployersolutions.com
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