Country: United States
Survey Organization: Harris Interactive, Inc.
Field Date: September 9, 2009–October 13, 2009
Sample: Peer-nominated experts in health care policy, finance, and delivery; select members of the Modern Healthcare database
Sample Size: 215
Interview Method: Online/E-mail
According to the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey, more than eight of 10 leaders in health care and health care policy believe Medicare has been successful at accomplishing two major goals—providing beneficiaries with access to basic medical care and providing stable, predictable coverage over time. Several of the Medicare proposals being discussed in Congress as part of comprehensive reform legislation, including expanding the power of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to put payment pilots on a "fast track" and to work with other parties to implement multipayer payment initiatives, are supported by most opinion leaders. Respondents also voiced strong support for using Medicare's leverage to negotiate pharmaceutical drug prices and creating an independent Medicare advisory council with authority to make payment and benefit design decisions within parameters established by Congress and the president.
Methodology: The Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of The Commonwealth Fund between September 9, 2009 and October 13, 2009 among 1,467 opinion leaders in health policy and innovators in health care delivery and finance. The final sample included 215 respondents from various industries, for a response rate of 16.0 percent. Data from this survey were not weighted. A full methodology is available in Appendix A.