Nearly half of U.S. voters (46%) say the quality of health care will decrease if the government oversees a national health plan, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Twenty-four percent (24%) say the quality of health care in America will increase under a national plan administered by the government, while 22% think quality will stay the same. Eight percent (8%) aren’t sure.

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Republicans and a plurality of unaffiliated voters (47%) expect health care quality to go down under government supervision, while 42% of Democrats think it will improve.

Similarly, African-Americans by nearly two-to-one over whites – 39% to 21% - believe the quality of health care will increase under government oversight. Fifty percent (50%) of whites say quality will decrease, but only 25% of blacks agree.

Forty percent (40%) of voters also say the cost of health insurance will increase with government oversight of a national plan, but 30% think the cost will go down. One-out of-five (20%) say it will stay the same, and 10% are undecided.
Forty-five percent (45%) of male voters expect costs to rise under that scenario, compared to 36% of women. A plurality of whites (44%) expect costs to go up, but only 17% of blacks agree.
Just 23% of Democrats expect insurance costs to increase versus 65% of GOP voters and a plurality of unaffiliated voters (38%). Married voters by 10 points over unmarrieds also expect costs to go up.

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In a survey last week, 51% of voters opposed the creation of a single-payer national health insurance plan overseen by the federal government. Thirty percent (30%) support such a plan.

In July, just 39% of adults opposed a national health insurance program run by the government.

President-elect Obama has stated that his goal is “affordable, accessible health care for every single American,” and on Friday he named former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to be both the secretary of Health and Human Services and the director of a new White House Office of Health Reform. It is unclear what direction Obama plans to go, but most Democrats favor the creation of a new government health plan and greater federal supervision of the health care marketplace.

Only 34% of voters now say the United States has the best health care system in the world. Forty-nine percent (49%) disagree, and 17% are undecided.

In a survey in July, 68% of Americans rated health care in this country as fair or poor, but a near identical number (69%) gave good or excellent marks to their own health insurance coverage and were very reluctant to change it.

A majority of U.S. voters (58%) oppose any kind of government-controlled health plan if it means they have to change their own insurance coverage.

Voters are more evenly divided when asked about helping those who cannot get insurance even if it means an increase in their own income taxes.

In the new survey, 46% of voters say lawsuits are a Very Significant factor in driving up the cost of health care in the United States. Only one percent (1%) say they are not at all significant.

Sixty-one percent (61%) of Republicans say lawsuits play a Very Significant part in rising health care costs, compared to 43% of unaffiliated voters and 35% of Democrats.
Democrats historically have opposed tort reform efforts in Congress to limit the lawsuit exposure of doctors and health care insurers because trial lawyers are among the biggest contributors to the party’s candidates. Obama has not said whether he will push for lawsuit reform as part of his health care planning.

Despite the steadily rising cost of prescription drugs, 64% say companies that manufacture the drugs should be allowed to make a profit. Only 22% say they should not be allowed to profit from making prescription drugs, while 15% are undecided.

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of self-described liberals say the drug manufacturers should not be allowed to profit, but only 20% of moderates and 19% of conservatives agree.

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