The Politico reports that “the broad outlines of a consensus plan” have emerged for health care reform. While acknowledging that there are “no guarantees,” the influential Washington newspaper says that the consensus is built around guidelines that assume “all Americans would be guaranteed access to health insurance. In fact, they’d probably be required to purchase it.”

Rasmussen Reports has polled extensively on health care reform issues and has public opinion data on key elements of what The Politico describes as the congressional consensus.

Coverage for All: Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters agree with the core objective of providing affordable health care for ‘every single American’.

Overall, just 35% rate the U.S. health care system as good or excellent. That suggests plenty of room for improvement. The biggest challenge to any reform proposal, however, is that 70% of insured rate their own health insurance coverage as good or excellent. This means that any proposal that would force people to exchange their existing plan for something new is a non-starter. In fact, only 25% would support a reform proposal that required a change in their own coverage.

According to The Politico, “Lawmakers view universal coverage not as much as a moral imperative but as an economic issue.” Twenty-six percent (26%) of uninsured Americans today rate the quality of their own health care treatment as poor.

Expanded Marketplace: The Politico says the creation of an “insurance marketplace” is the closest thing to “a sure bet in the bill.” That makes sense in a nation where 77% of voters generally prefer a free-market economy. Not only that, just 29% say a government-run health insurance program would provide better service than a private company. In the service area, one significant issue today is that just 50% believe the current system allows most Americans to choose their own doctor.

Paying for It: This is where things get tough with The Politico reporting the health care reform plan could cost more than a trillion dollars. Reportedly, the “hot target at the moment” is “levying a tax on health benefits provided through employers.” However, Americans hate the idea of taxing health insurance benefits and oppose it by a 77% to 11% margin. Overall, just 32% of Americans say they are willing to pay higher taxes for health care reform.

One idea recently floated was to have a national sales tax cover the cost of health care reform. Forty percent (40%) favor that idea while 49% are opposed. However, no numbers were mentioned in the survey and a tax big enough to cover the cost of reform would probably be higher than any existing state sales tax. As a result, it can safely be assumed that support for using a sales tax in this manner would be far lower than they are in the abstract.

President Obama and others have presented health care reform as a way to save money. But only 19% of Americans believe health care reform will lead to lower costs. In fact, 45% expect the cost of health care to rise as a result of reform.

Half the nation would support more taxes on alcohol to fund universal health care.

Mandates: The Politico says the “economics of an overhaul don’t work unless the government does everything it can to funnel people into the system.” But just 31% of Americans believe the young and the healthy should be required to buy health insurance.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of American adults believe all companies should be required to buy health insurance for their employees. As for the self-employed, 46% believe they should be required to buy insurance while 41% disagree. Most entrepreneurs (52%) oppose mandatory coverage for the self-employed.

Also, 60% of small business owners believe that a government mandate to provide health care coverage for employees would have a negative impact on their business.

Just 30% of Americans want to go beyond mandates and create a government-run national health plan.

Government Insurance Company: “Establishing a public insurance option to compete with private insurers remains one of the most contentious aspects of the reform debate,” according to The Politico. The public is evenly divided: 41% favor a government health insurance plan while 44% are opposed. A plurality of Americans believe that creation of a government insurance plan will hurt the quality of care in the United States.

In the midst of all this, Democrats see health care reform as the most important of the president’s priorities. Republicans and unaffiliated voters see deficit reduction as more important.

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