President Obama’s speech to Congress Wednesday night has provided at least a short-term boost in support for the health care reform plan that he and congressional Democrats have proposed. But the bounce is partisan in nature, with the increase in support coming entirely from those in the president’s own party.
Views of the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats remain largely unchanged since late July. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey conducted Tuesday and Wednesday nights finds that 44% favor the plan while 53% are opposed. These numbers are little different than those in late August.
When the public debate over health care reform began in earnest in June, 50% of voters nationwide supported the legislative effort and 45% were opposed. By August, support had fallen to 43% and opposition had risen to 53%. Since then, opinions seem to have stabilized in advance of President Obama’s address to Congress tonight.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters favor a plan to provide a free medical school education for doctors who agree to serve five years helping those living in poverty without health insurance.
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.
Fifty-three percent (53%) of U.S. voters say restricting jury awards in medical malpractice lawsuits would significantly reduce the cost of health care in the United States.
As President Obama prepares for a major speech on Wednesday to relaunch his health care reform initiative, polling data continues to show that many Americans remain skeptical of the details.
The health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats contains many controversial items that divide the general public. However, one area of consensus among the public is the desire to restrict government health care benefits to U.S. citizens only.
At town hall meetings on the health care issue, most Americans say it’s more important for those in Congress to listen rather than speak.
Despite President Barack Obama’s promise that any health care reform legislation will be deficit-neutral, 68% of voters nationwide say that passage of the Congressional health care reform legislation is likely to create larger deficits.
As August winds down, the good news for President Obama and congressional Democrats is that support for their proposed health care legislation has stopped falling. The bad news is that most voters oppose the plan.
If Democrats agree on a health care reform bill that is opposed by all Republicans in Congress, 24% of voters nationwide say the Democrats should pass that bill.
Most voters think they understand the health care reform legislation proposed by President Obama better than Congress does - and about as well as the president himself.
Just 34% of voters nationwide support the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats if the so-called “public option” is removed. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 57% oppose the plan if it doesn't include a government-run health insurance plan to compete with private insurers.
Statements by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in a recent article in USA Today are aimed at assuring Americans that their access to quality care will be even greater under the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats.
Thirty-five percent (35%) of American voters say passage of the bill currently working its way through Congress would be better than not passing any health care reform legislation this year.
Public support for the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats has fallen to a new low as just 42% of U.S. voters now favor the plan. That’s down five points from two weeks ago.
Thirty-two percent (32%) of voters nationwide favor a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% are opposed to a single-payer plan.
When it comes to health care decisions, 51% of the nation’s voters fear the federal government more than private insurance companies.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared last week that health insurance companies are “villains,” and 25% of U.S. voters agree with her.
