Aug 11, 2021 – Large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans believe nurses and health workers are underpaid, while many Americans say doctors, physical therapists and pharmacists are paid around the right amount, according to a new survey.
The bipartisan agreement on health worker pay contrasts with the sharp divide between Democrats and Republicans on health issues, which has remained largely unchanged since the pandemic.
The survey was conducted June 10-14 by the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Only 11% of respondents believe doctors are underpaid, 50% think they are getting the right amount, and 39% think they are overpaid.
In contrast, 59% of Americans believe nurses are underpaid, 32% believe they are getting the right amount, and 6% say they are being paid too much. The results for health workers are roughly the same.
Insurance managers and hospital managers took a close look at it in this survey. A whopping 73% of respondents say health insurance officials are overpaid; 68% say the same about hospital managers.
Little difference between the parties
When the data is broken down by political affiliation, Democrats, Independents, and Republicans separate just a few percentage points on whether they think doctors and nurses are underpaid, overpaid, or paid the right amount. 76 percent of Democrats, 53 percent of Independents, and 65 percent of Republicans believe hospital managers are overpaid.
Partiality also has little influence on trust in health professionals. Overall, 70% of Americans trust their doctors to do what’s right for them and their families, including 72% Republicans, 52% Independents, and 77% Democrats. At 79%, trust in nurses is even higher among all respondents.
Likewise, 75% of respondents trust pharmacists, with a similar number of Republicans and Democrats.
Three-quarters of the total sample distrust hospital managers, including 70% Democrats, 76% Independents, and 79% Democrats.
Division of health policy
As always, Republicans and Democrats differ on important health issues. While 44% of Americans are in favor of the Affordable Care Act and 31% are against it, only 14% of Republicans and 26% of Independents support it. In contrast, 77% of Democrats support what came to be known as Obamacare.
When asked about the “public option” – a government-administered health plan available to all Americans that would compete with private health insurance – 48% of respondents are in favor of it and 20% are against it. But only 27% of Republicans and 38% of Independents support these policies, compared with 71% of Democrats.
Likewise, 38% of Americans want a deposit-paying healthcare system and 35% don’t. The proportion of Republicans (18%) and Independents (27%) who like the deposit system is far lower than the 59% of Democrats who are willing to do it.
There is far less variation among Americans on whether to allow the federal government and private insurers to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs. 72% of respondents support this idea, including 68% Republicans, 55% Independents and 82% Democrats.
More liberals want salary increases for nurses
Proponents of the Affordable Care Act, a deposit system, and a public option are more likely than other Americans to say that nurses and health workers are underpaid and insurance managers are overpaid.
The majority of Americans are in favor of government funding to increase the number of doctors, but Democrats are far more likely to endorse the policy than Republicans. The level of support for this policy is similar to that for expanding public health insurance for low-income people. However, increasing the number of doctors is less popular than using government funds to reduce patient outlays.
While 70% of Democrats are in favor of government support to increase the number of doctors, only 41% of Republicans support such a proposal. Similarly, 84% of Democrats are in favor of increasing funding for expanded state health coverage for low-income people, compared with 33% of Republicans.
WebMD health news
swell
Harris AP / NORC Poll: “Most Americans agree that nurses and aides are underpaid, while few support the use of federal dollars to increase doctors’ pay.”
© 2021 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
Comments are closed.