Health insurance policies and practices are reducing access to medical care, driving up health care costs and increasing clinician burden and burnout, according to patients and clinicians surveyed by Morning Consult for the AHA.  
 
Over six in 10 patients report experiencing at least one insurance-related barrier to care in the past two years, with four in 10 reporting worse health as a result. Most patients say they want their care provider, not their insurance company, to determine what care they receive; and over half report difficulty affording insurance costs and premiums.  
 
Over eight in 10 nurses say insurers’ administrative policies delay patient care, three-quarters say they reduce quality of care and over half say their job satisfaction has decreased as a result. Over eight in 10 physicians say these policies affect their ability to practice medicine and make it difficult to operate a solo practice.  

“These surveys bear out what we’ve heard for years — certain insurance companies’ policies and practices are reducing health care access and making it more difficult for our already overwhelmed clinicians to provide care,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “Health insurance should be a bridge to medical care, not a barrier to it for patients. If policymakers are serious about expanding access and addressing the health care workforce crisis, then we must hold insurance companies accountable for these harmful practices.”

Related News Articles

Headline
An analysis released Feb. 13 by KFF found that a proposal to cut the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion match rate could reduce total Medicaid spending…
Headline
The Senate Budget Committee Feb. 12 advanced a budget resolution for fiscal year 2025 focusing on the border, military and energy by a vote of 11-10. The…
Headline
The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare Feb. 11 released a report  highlighting how the health care industry can save $20 billion by transitioning…
Headline
The AHA voiced support for bipartisan House legislation introduced Feb. 4 to reauthorize for five years the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act…
Headline
The White House Office of Management and Budget Jan. 29 rescinded a memo it issued two days earlier directing federal agencies to temporarily pause federal…
Headline
An analysis by KFF released Jan. 28 found that Medicare Advantage insurers made nearly 50 million prior authorization determinations in 2023. The finding…