Residents Disappointed in Health Care Reform

A random sampling of San Rafael residents has found that most of them were more concerned about health care in the country a year after President Barack Obama took office than in the months prior to his election.

The survey, by Barbara Ganley, director of Dominican University of California's Master of Science Nursing program, was a follow-up to a 2008 study that indicated San Rafael residents were hopeful that the candidates for president would resolve the state of health care given their campaign promises. By January 2010, their concerns had increased significantly.

Those who responded to the survey were more vocal about their disappointment how government has addressed health care in 2010 than in 2008.

"The promises are not coming to fruition," Ganley said. "Because health care was a huge issue, and still remains a big issue, people are saying they are concerned they are not going to have options."

Ganley and her crew interviewed individuals on Fourth Street in San Rafael and surveyed residents in the Dominican and Black Canyon neighborhoods using a software program and gathering 466 responses in 2008. This year, 174 responded to the questions.

A statistical analysis found that the majority of respondents were from 40- to-59-years old and earned from $101,0000 to $150,000 in annual income. In addition, they were more likely to be registered Democrats than Republicans or independents.

Ganley said there was a significant positive correlation between income and how individuals rated their health and insurance, suggesting higher income is equated with better health.

In her report on the survey, Ganley quoted the anonymous respondents' comments, many of which showed concern about the cost of quality health care while the benefits paid by insurers were decreasing. 

"It is spiraling out of control and unless you have a group coverage through an employer, the cost of individual health insurance is almost cost prohibitive for the middle- and low-income families," one respondent wrote in 2008. "They find themselves going to higher and higher deductibles just to be able to afford premiums and then the plan becomes catastrophic...I am not sure what the answer is but I foresee the whole thing blowing up in the future."

Another wrote: "I have been uninsured for one day so far. I was denied health care coverage because I had a medical treatment over a month ago. So, I need to wait at least three months after my radioactive treatment, and then they might reconsider a new application."

The 2010 group also expressed concerns that at the rate health care costs have risen, they face the possibility of losing their insurance. Many were fearful of developing a long-term illness and worried about what would happen if they lost their jobs. 

Unlike in 2008, 22 percent of the 2010 group felt uneasy about how Medicare, Congress, Obama, or the government was managing or mismanaging health care.

One 2010 respondent wrote: "President Obama (related to health care) doesn't seem to be making much headway."

Another wrote: "I worry that our government will remain in polarized gridlock while the American public bears the consequences of insurance companies to continue to cherry pick only the most profitable, reduced risk people for their overpriced health insurance policy."

And one said: "I am very afraid that I will be forced into a government-run and regulated plan once I begin to pay for health care on my own. I am concerned about how President Obama is approaching health care."

A report on the study will be published soon, Ganley said.

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