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POLITICS

69% Think Competition Between Health Insurers Better for Consumers Than More Government Regulation

Voters think less government red tape and more competition are the best ways to bring down health care costs.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe greater free market competition between insurance companies would do more to reduce health care costs than more government regulation. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 23% feel the more effective course would be more government regulation. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Under current law, competition between health insurance companies is restricted in many ways. The government has long provided a special protection to the industry in the form of an exemption from anti-trust laws. Sixty-eight percent (68%) believe that health insurance companies should lose their special exemption while only 12% disagree and favor the status quo. Another 20% are not sure.

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The national telephone survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on July 14-15, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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