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Americans
Worry About Chronic Illness
WASHINGTON
(Reuters Health) - At a time when 45% of people in the US are
living with a chronic medical condition, a survey released Monday
shows that many Americans are concerned about the quality of care
the chronically ill receive.
Seventy-two
percent of Americans believe people with chronic conditions have
difficulty getting necessary care from their healthcare providers,
and 74% say it is difficult for the chronically ill to obtain
prescription drugs, according to the Harris survey of 1,663 adult
Americans.
The survey
also found that more than three-quarters of respondents believe
it is difficult for the chronically ill to find adequate health
insurance or to get help from their own family.
The survey
was sponsored by Partnership for Solutions, an initiative led
by Johns Hopkins University and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
According
to figures from 2000, 125 million Americans were living with at
least one chronic condition, such as paralysis, Alzheimer's disease,
mental health problems, HIV/AIDS or high blood pressure.
``That's 20
million more than projected 5 years ago,'' Dr. Gerard F. Anderson,
national program director for the Partnership and professor of
health policy, management and international health at the Johns
Hopkins University's School of Public Health, said at a press
conference here.
Moreover,
the number of chronically ill Americans is expected to rise to
157 million--about half the US population--by 2020, Anderson said.
He added that the costs of caring for the chronically ill will
jump from $500 billion in 2000 to $1 trillion, or 80% of US healthcare
spending, by 2020.
``This is
a wake-up call,'' Anderson said. ``Those people with chronic conditions
need a helping hand.'' The needs of the chronically ill vary,
Anderson noted, from assistance for dressing, bathing or transportation
to financial help to learning about the existence of government
programs they can tap.
An ``enormous
gulf'' exists between what the chronically ill need and what is
provided for them, Dr. Lewis G. Sandy, executive vice president
of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said. The issue ``challenges
us medically, economically and organizationally,'' he said.
The survey
showed that a majority of Americans want Congress to provide solutions
to address the problems the chronically ill and their caregivers
face. According to the Harris survey, 92% of respondents favor
government funded long-term care insurance, 85% support tax relief
for those buying private long-term care insurance, 92% support
a tax break for family, friends and others who act as caregivers,
and 94% favor Congress adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.
Reference
Source 89
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