Five Realities About Public Opinion on Health Care
Bruce Drake
They are:
1. Public opinion on health care reform is divided, yet stable, and for a variety of reasons that Gallup details, the continuing debate over the legislation is not likely to change any minds.
2. The public does not feel a strong sense of urgency about passing health care reform.
3. A substantial majority of Americans have health insurance and are satisfied with their coverage and care. They don't believe passage of a reform measure will improve their own situations. So, most of the support for health care comes from people who believe coverage should be provided for those who don't have it.
4. Parts of the health care reform proposals have strong appeal and a few do not. There is wide support for requiring insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions, prohibiting insurers from dropping people who get sick, and providing assistance to low-income Americans to help them get insurance. But Gallup (unlike some other national polls) found Americans closely divided on whether there should be a "public option" to provide competition to private insurance. Gallup has found consistent opposition to reducing Medicare payments or taxing insurance plans with the most generous benefits in order to pay for a health care overhaul.
5.President Obama has the upper hand in the battle. Americans trust him more on health care than lawmakers from either party on Capitol Hill, although his margins are not overwhelming.
For the full Gallup analysis go here.