While most Americans continue to oppose the overall health care plan working its way through Congress, two reforms in the plan are supported by more than 70% of the public - creating a new national insurance exchange and requiring health insurance companies to accept applicants with pre-existing conditions.
When it comes to paying for the cost of the proposed health care reform plan, voters are okay with taxing the rich but strongly reject cuts in Medicare and excise taxes on “Cadillac” health plans provided by employers.
Forty-two percent (42%) of U.S. voters now favor the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the most positive result since mid-November, but still most voters remain opposed.
Fifty-three percent (53%) of voters favor a ban on abortion coverage in any health insurance plan that receives federal subsidies. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 40% are opposed to such a ban in the proposed health care legislation now before Congress.
If the health care plan before Congress becomes law, 47% of voters nationwide believe states should have the right to opt out of it.
Thirty-four percent (34%) of voters nationwide favor a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 52% are opposed to such a system, and 14% are not sure.
From the beginning of the health care debate, one of the challenges facing reform advocates has been the fact that most Americans have insurance and are generally happy with their coverage.
Many have questioned whether those who favor or oppose the health care plan in Congress really know what’s in it. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey suggests that they have a decent understanding of the bill and that voter attitudes towards the legislation have hardened.
Seventy-eight percent (78%) of voters nationwide say it’s at least somewhat likely that the health care reform legislation working its way through Congress will cost more than projected. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 14% believe the costs are not likely to exceed projections.
Sixty-seven percent (67%) of voters nationwide now expect that health care reform legislation will pass this year. That’s up from 49% before the Senate passed its version of the legislation on Christmas Eve - and by far the highest level of expectation yet measured.
Senate Democrats are celebrating this morning for passing their version of health care reform, but voters still don’t like much of what they see.
Over the past week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid found a way to collect 60 votes and move health care reform legislation forward in the U.S. Senate. However, his negotiating and the ongoing debate did nothing to improve public opinion of the legislation.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters nationwide say that it would be better to pass no health care reform bill this year instead of passing the plan currently being considered by Congress. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 34% think that passing that bill would be better.
Fifty-six percent (56%) of U.S. voters now oppose the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the highest level of opposition found - reached three times before - in six months of polling.
The Senate worked through the weekend on its version of the national health care bill, with President Obama stopping by for a rare Sunday visit, but for the second week in a row, only 41% of U.S. voters favor the health care plan proposed by the president and congressional Democrats.
While most Americans oppose the health care legislation working its way through Congress, most also believe the reform is something the federal government should be dealing with.
Only 27% of voters nationwide favor a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone. That’s down five points from August.
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters nationwide now believe protests at congressional town hall meetings on the health care reform plan were phony efforts drummed up by special interest groups and lobbyists, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters nationwide favor limiting the amount of money a jury can award a plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 29% disagree and 14% are not sure.
Members of Congress may rely upon the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), but voters are skeptical. The CBO has projected that the health care legislation now being considered by Congress would make the federal budget deficit a bit smaller over the coming decade, but only 17% of voters believe that’s true.
