Seventy-eight percent (78%) of U.S. voters say every American should be allowed to purchase the same health insurance plan that members of Congress use.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only seven percent (7%) of voters disagree and 15% are not sure.

Unlike many issues related to the contentious debate over so-called health care reform, there is little disagreement on this question across all demographic categories. In its question, Rasmussen Reports did not describe the congressional health plan in any way, merely identifying it as the “health insurance plan that members of Congress use.”

The survey also found that 35% of voters believe everyone should pay the same amount for health care regardless of how often they see the doctor and have medical tests. But 44% say that’s a bad idea. Twenty-one percent (21%) don’t know which is better.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of liberals say all should pay the same, while the same number (57%) of conservatives disagree.

Politically speaking, most Republicans (53%) are against having everyone pay the same amount and a plurality (46%) of voters not affiliated with either party share that view. Democrats are more evenly divided, but a plurality (42%) favor the idea of having everyone pay the same insurance cost.

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Members of Congress are eligible for the same private health care programs available to all other federal workers, with the government paying two-thirds of the premium and the Congress member paying one-third. They also can opt for access to a medical team at the U.S. Capitol and use of the major Army and Navy hospitals in Washington, D.C., for which they pay as if part of an HMO, although this coverage is subsidized by taxpayers.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, said, “In the Federalist Papers, written to promote passage of the U.S. Constitution, it was noted that the only way to effectively control a legislator was to insure that they come home and live under the rules they write for the rest of us. In the 21st century, that doesn’t happen anymore. So voters seem to be applying the same logic in reverse by saying that they would like a chance to play by the same rules that Congress has written for themselves.”

Americans are evenly divided over the general concept of making free health care available to every one in the country, but by a two-to-one margin, they reject free health care for all if it means changing their own coverage and joining a program administered by the government.

In fact, support for any proposed reform goes down if people are told they would have to change their own coverage.

Despite assurances from President Obama and congressional Democrats that no one with insurance will be forced to change their current coverage, 52% of those with insurance say it’s likely they will have to change coverage following passage of the current health care reform plan.

That’s one of the reasons that only 43% of voters favor the president’s plan while 53% are opposed. Those who oppose the plan feel more strongly about it than those who favor it.

With Republicans pushing for so-called tort reform as part of the health care reform bill now before Congress, 56% of all voters agree that the government should limit the amount of money a jury can award a plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

In late June, 67% of voters said the insurance coverage provided for members of Congress should be made available to every American, but 17% disagreed. But 69% of those with health insurance also rated their existing coverage as good or excellent.

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