Episode 169: HealthCare Affordability in the U.S. and the CHES Survey

Dr. Beth Beaudin-Seiler is a Project Director in the Health Research and Insights practice area, where she leads the Health Economics and Policy team. She leads a portfolio of work that focuses on health care affordability, including the Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey (CHES) - a survey designed to understand the burdens, trade-offs, and worries respondents have regarding affording health care. Her goal is to educate listeners on the findings of the 2025 TN CHES Survey.https://healthcarevaluehub.org/consumer-healthcare-experience-state-survey/1:38 Beth’s backstory from the College of Aviation at Western Michigan University, training pilots to researching healthcare at Altarum.What is Altarum?A nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the health of individuals who have fewer financial resources, or are disenfranchised by the system. Altarum works on behalf of federal, state, and philanthropic organizations on evidence-based research , planning, and implementing different strategies to address healthcare affordability. I am the senior manager of our health economics and policy program area, under our Health Research and Insights Division at Altarum.728 What is the CHES Survey, and what are its findings?CHES survey stands for the Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey. In 2018, when we started CHES, because we've kind of felt like the healthcare system could be a lot like playing chess. It's difficult to navigate. The CHES survey asks about respondents' experiences with the healthcare system. Not only their experience in navigating it, their confidence in being able to navigate it, what they have experienced in terms of affordability burden, have they had to make trade-offs in terms of trading off food or housing or basic necessities in order to pay for a medical service or medical procedure or a test or their medications, whether or not they're worried about affording medical services both now and in the future. We ask about their levels of trust and respect in the system, and how they feel they've been treated in the healthcare system.10:24 CHES Survey was presented at a Tennessee Justice Center webinar11:17 How often do Tennesseans ration their medications?13:38 Health care affordability concerns for individuals with disabilities?16:13 When people with insurance choose to forgo care because of high deductibles and copays.17:41 How should research like the CHES survey be utilized by parent advocates and healthcare providers that support this community? 22:23 Next Steps?The  CHES survey has been conducted in 36 unique states in the US to form a national database. Findings need to be aggregated to benchmark individual state performance.