As the summer heats up, so do talks of the 2020 presidential election. With so many changes happening this year due to COVID-19, we wanted to know what issues are top of mind for many Americans.
So in July, we took the time to gather feedback about the upcoming November election from two different survey groups: adults under 64 and Medicare-eligible seniors 64 and older.
We also took a pulse on some previously discussed topics such as healthcare, technology, and the economy.
Our July healthinsurance.com survey from our under-64 audience focused on the political, economic, healthcare, social, and workplace landscapes.
One of the most interesting - and perhaps most compelling - highlights from this survey is that 60% of respondents are willing to risk their health to vote in person this November.
Respondents from our July 2020 Medicare-eligible survey also shared similar sentiments with 42% planning to vote in person. Meanwhile, 58% said they will mail-in their ballots.
Access to healthcare through telemedicine has been a main focal point in many of our past surveys. And this month is no different.
Both of our July 2020 survey audience reported nearly identical telemedicine usage during the pandemic: Medicare-eligible seniors at 44% and their younger counterparts at 43%. But what’s really impressive is that seniors have stepped up their use of telemedicine by a whopping 300% since the pandemic.
But despite telemedicine offering an affordable alternative to seeing a doctor, cost is still a major barrier in accessing care. In fact, nearly 6 in 10 respondents from our under-64 July survey have avoided medical treatment due to costs. Meanwhile, about 4 in 10 respondents from our seniors survey have done the same.
And roughly 90% of respondents from both survey groups agree that prescription drug costs in the U.S. are too high.
With this year’s presidential election taking place during a pandemic, it’s no surprise that healthcare and the economy are the most important issues to our survey respondents.
As featured in this Fox News video, 50% of our under-64 survey respondents think that healthcare is the most important issue in the 2020 election, while the other half say it’s the economy. Meanwhile, 68% of our Medicare-eligible respondents report that these two issues are the most important to them.
Some of the issues affecting the economy have to do with less people being out and about, which has resulted in fewer people patronizing businesses.
That's why we visited the First Light radio show to discuss how just 14% of our non-Medicare-eligible survey respondents have returned to their gyms, while 40% have gone to a restaurant or bar since the pandemic.
We also stopped by Newsmax.com to take a pulse on the effect of losing health coverage during a pandemic. And unfortunately, more than half of our July 2020 survey respondents (under 64) don’t know their health insurance options if they were to lose their coverage. This percentage has stayed the same as our previous 2020 surveys.
And among this survey group, 20% have either lost or know someone who has lost their health insurance during the pandemic.
Telemedicine isn’t the only area where seniors are using technology during COVID-19. Interestingly, nearly 50% of seniors are binge watching shows, according to our July 2020 Medicare survey.
This may not be a surprise considering that three quarters of these respondents have a smart TV or streaming device, while 66% still have cable.
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