Aimed Alliance Releases Poll Showing Americans Want Health Insurers to Stop Interfering with Their Treatment

– Results from ‘Principles for U.S. Health Care’ Show a Disconnect
between Expectations and Reality Regarding Coverage for Quality Care –

– Federal and State Policymakers Now Have an Opportunity to Improve Care
if They Listen to the Patient Voice –

– Access to Prescribed Treatment without Insurance Interference Remains
a Top Priority –

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, the Alliance for the Adoption of Innovations in Medicine (Aimed
Alliance) released the results of a poll showing that Americans value
innovative treatments, are willing to pay more for them, and do not want
insurers to interfere with their ability to take such treatment. The
“Principles for U.S. Health Care” poll also shows that while many
Americans hold their health insurers to high standards and expect to
receive quality care, there is a disconnect between expectations and
reality. Consumers pay premiums to “insure” that adequate coverage will
be there when they need it. However, insurers can subjectively deny
treatment that is prescribed to their plan enrollees and force
“unprofitable” patients into therapies that are less expensive and
potentially less effective.

Stacey L. Worthy, Esq., Executive Director of Aimed Alliance said,
“There is an inherent absurdity that someone who never examined you
would have the authority to override the decision of a trained medical
professional with an intimate knowledge of your condition.”

The following are some key findings from the poll:

  • 95 percent of respondents would prefer health care decisions to remain
    between the patient and provider, rather than allow insurers,
    institutions, or the government to interfere;
  • 54 percent of respondents said that they would pay more not to suffer
    certain adverse effects of medications, for example, taking a
    medication that would result in permanent hair loss; and
  • 92 percent of respondents opposed “nonmedical switching,” in which
    insurers can force stable patients to switch from their current
    medication to a different drug.

The poll, which was conducted from December 3 to December 8, 2016,
coincides with state and federal policymakers looking to reform
insurance coverage, with a special focus on the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in 2017.

Ms. Worthy added, “We urge policy-makers to examine what role insurers
should have in the patient-care decision making process. The answer is
fairly simple…None.”

The poll provides a unique opportunity for policymakers at all levels of
the government to hear the patient voice so they can improve care as
they take on insurance reform. At the federal level, the poll reveals
that Americans support laws that protect people with preexisting
conditions, offer protections against discrimination on the basis of
health condition, mandate certain essential health benefits, and require
health plan transparency. At the state level, a priority must be to
address barriers that insurance policies place between patients and
their treatment, including nonmedical switching and “step therapy,” in
which patients must try and fail on an older, less expensive treatment
before getting the treatment their own health care practitioners
prescribed.

Moreover, if denied coverage of a treatment or medication, the poll
found that a majority of respondents (77 percent) would be willing to
file an appeal.

Aimed Alliance recently launched the “Know Your Health Insurance Rights”
initiative to help patients do just that. By visiting www.CoverageRights.org,
patients can understand their insurance rights on a state-by-state level
and how to challenge adverse coverage decisions.

The full poll report with findings may be found here,
and the raw data may be found here.

About Aimed Alliance

Established in 2013 and based in Washington, DC, the Alliance for
Adoption of Innovations in Medicine (Aimed Alliance) is a tax-exempt,
not-for-profit organization that seeks to improve health care in the
United States through access to evidence-based treatments and
technologies. Aimed Alliance’s supporters are disclosed at http://www.aimedalliance.org/collaborators/.

Contacts

For Aimed Alliance:
Stacey Worthy, 202-644-8525
sworthy@aimedalliance.org
or
Peggy
Frank, 818-642-6804
peggy.frank@initiatepr.com

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