Surveys show divergence in care priorities.(News)

WASHINGTON -- Physicians and consumers appear divided on their health care priorities for 2005, according to several polls released at a forum sponsored by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and Forbes magazine.

Although physicians are emphasizing healthy lifestyles and other preventive care measures, consumers seem more preoccupied with rising health care costs--specifically, prescription drug prices, survey data indicated.

The surveys included a national postelection poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, in conjunction with Peter D. Hart Research Associates, and a postelection Internet poll of 500 physicians conducted in Cincinnati by the Blues, in conjunction with Cooper Research Group Inc.

Malpractice reform, unsurprisingly, is top priority for physicians. More than 70% identified medical malpractice insurance and lawsuits as the leading factors that drive up costs, followed by the aging population (42%), the cost of prescription drugs (42%), and the poor health habits of Americans (37%).

Eighty percent of physicians said Congress should make liability reform its top health care priority for the next 2 years, followed by universal access to health care coverage and getting Americans to adopt healthier lifestyles.

By comparison, 60% of the consumers in the postelection survey said prescription drugs were the main cause of the rise in health care costs. For these respondents, health care and prescription drug costs ranked closely behind the economy and jobs as the number-one domestic priority for Congress.

Consumers ranked access to health care coverage and affordable prescription drugs as the two "top tier" issues Congress should make progress on, whereas reforming the medical malpractice system ranked only as a middle- to bottom-tier issue.