Healthcare Consumer Confidence Steadies in May, According to Thomson Reuters Sentiment Index

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

American confidence in his ability to access and pay for better health care in May, according to a consumer confidence index produced by Thomson Reuters.

Surveyed for the index reported a better outlook when asked if they had experienced a reduction or loss of insurance coverage in the last three months. In general, the Thomson Reuters Consumer Sentiment Index rose three points of Health from 95 April to 98 May, a statistically significant increase.

"This renewed confidence is encouraging when compared with the numbers last month, but month to month variability in confidence could be an indication of uncertainty based health consumers," said Gary Pickens, head of research at Thomson Reuters Center for Health Google Analytics.

The index, based on the pulse of Thomson Reuters (TM) Health Survey, consists of two parts:

* A retrospective component indicators experiences of respondents in the last three months. Keep track of postponing, delaying or canceling health services and if they have difficulty paying for medical care or health insurance. In May, consumer confidence retrospective showed significant improvement in the level of the index, up five points to 98 from a record low on 93 April.

* A prospective component indicators of respondents' expectations for the next three months. In May, consumer confidence rose slightly to 97 prospective, one point higher than it had been in April.

Thomson Reuters The Healthcare Consumer Sentiment Index is updated monthly. A full report on the results of May is available here: http://healthcare.thomsonreuters. com / indexes / assets / CHSI_Findings_may.pdf

The PULSE Thomson Reuters Health Survey collects information about health behaviors, attitudes and use of more than 100,000 U.S. households per year. It is representative of all U.S. adults and households. The Consumer Sentiment Index of Health is based on survey responses from a subset of 3,000 participants each month. His baseline measurement of 100 was established in December 2009.

Thomson Reuters
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For more information, visit www.thomsonreuters.com.

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