The winds of public opinion could be turning in favor of health insurers and against the pharmaceutical manufacturers.
About 44 percent of U.S adults recently told survey workers they have a very or somewhat favorable opinion about health insurers, up from 40 percent in March 2008, according to analysts at the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation.
The percentage of survey participants who said they have a favorable opinion about drug companies fell to 42 percent, from 47 percent, while the percentage who said they have a very unfavorable opinion about drug companies rose to 30 percent, from 23 percent.
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Hostility toward drug companies grew even though consumers are less likely than they were in 2008 to report having trouble with paying for their own drugs, and more likely to say that drug prices seem reasonable.
The Kaiser analysts based their figures on results from a telephone survey of about 1,200 U.S. adults ages 18 and older conducted earlier this month, and a similar survey conducted in March 2008.