Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Care Consumer Confidence Index
August Findings
Americans’ confidence in their ability to afford future care and maintain coverage ticked upwards in August. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Care Consumer Confidence Index (RWJF Index) increased from 98.1 points in July to 100.3 in August. The RWJF Index is a monthly survey that evaluates consumer confidence in American health care. It is tabulated by the University of Minnesota's State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) using data collected as part of the Surveys of Consumers, conducted by the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan.
The RWJF Index ranges from 0 to 200—with baseline set at 100 in spring of 2009—and is composed of two sub-indices. The first, the Recent Health Cost Barriers Index, gauges consumers’ recent experiences accessing health care because of cost concerns. This index actually decreased from 101.1 in July to 100.8 in August. The second, the Future Health Cost Concerns Index, measures consumers’ confidence about accessing health care or health insurance in the future because of cost. This index increased from 95.0 in July to 99.8 in August.