Poll Finds Slight Rise in Doubts About Personal Impact of Health Reform

2 years ago

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While support for moving ahead with health care reform remained about the same as last month, the number of Americans who believed passage of an overhaul would make them worse off grew slightly, according to a Kaiser Health Tracking poll conducted Oct. 8-15.

Forty-one percent said they expected to be better off if health care reform passed compared to 27 percent who said they would be worse off and 28 percent who said it would make no difference. That compared to last month when 42 percent expected to be better off, 23 percent said they would be worse off and 28 percent said it would make no difference. The highest percentage this year for "worse off" was 31 percent, which came in August when opponents of reform took the offensive.

Asked how they thought passage of reform legislation would impact the quality of their own care, 29 percent said it would improve, 27 percent said it would get worse, and 37 percent said it would remain about the same. Last month, 31 percent said it would get better, 21 percent said worse, and 42 percent said about the same.

There was also slippage in how those surveyed thought reform would impact their health care costs. Thirty-four percent said the cost situation would get better, 30 percent predicted it would worsen and 29 percent said it would be the same. Last month, 37 percent said it would get better, 27 percent said it would get worse and 30 percent said it would stay the same.

Filed Under: Health Care, Polls, Poll Watch

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