Opinion Polls vs Facts

Opinion Polls on subjects that have factual bases are generally meaningless. It at best shows the gross ignorance of the public along with the intent by the pollster to generate politically motivated answers.

In a recent NEJM article there is a summary of a multiplicity of polls describing the "public's" belief of certain facts in the delivery of health care. For example they note the following:

Reasons for high health care costs

Reasons for rising health care costs (top 5 from a list of 12; % saying major reason)

Drug companies make too much money 78%
Hospitals charge too much 71
There is too much fraud and waste in the health care system 71
Insurance companies make too much money 70
New drugs, treatments, and medical technologies are often very expensive 62

Reasons for high health care costs (top 5 from a list of 18; % saying major reason)

High prices charged by drug companies 79%
High prices charged by insurance companies 75
High prices charged by hospitals 74
High prices charged by doctors and other health professionals 66%
Actions taken by the federal government that raise health care prices 64%

Now most of these questions can be answered with facts some cannot. For example; what is the basis for drug companies making too much? What is too much? What person in the poll could even name a single drug company? Again what of hospitals making too much. Then as to fraud. We can estimate that and then ask too much? Frankly any fraud should be too much.

As to the case of high prices, especially charged by physicians. First Medicare sets the price not the physician. That accounts for almost 20% of all such costs. The same goes for hospitals. It is true that the Government actions, the ACA, was a cause for the recent rise in costs. But that was for those outside Medicare.

These questions have some factual basis. Yet the way they are posed and the audience asked present only a "feeling" and perhaps that is the greatest problem.