[Salon] Growing frustration

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

Bloomberg

Growing frustration

The killing of UnitedHealth Group insurance chief Brian Thompson prompted an outpouring of discontent about health insurers on social media. Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth’s parent company, acknowledged the frustration in a New York Times op-ed. 

The problems aren’t new — they’ve been brewing for decades. Here's a look at some of the long-term trends that have driven discontent with American health care.

Premiums have risen sharply this century, weighing on employers’ and consumers’ budgets: 

Even as premium costs have gone up, health insurance often fails to offer people the financial protection they need. A growing share of workers have yearly deductibles — the money they have to pay before an insurance plan picks up expenses — in the thousands of dollars:

As a result, costs top the list of Americans’ most urgent health concerns:

Money worries haunt every aspect of Americans’ experiences with the health-care system: 

At the same time, health insurers, which are usually selected by employers, not consumers directly, get lousy ratings for service: 

Rising price tags combined with broad dissatisfaction with health insurers’ quality of service means that Americans feel like they’re paying much more for less. — John Tozzi and Antonia Mufarech