Monday February 26 5:44 PM ET
Survey: 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.