September 30, 2010

AP Poll: Repeal? Many Wish HealthReform Went Further

RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR and JENNIFER AGIESTA | 09/25/10 11:05 PM |

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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has divided thenation, and Republicans believe their call for repeal will help them win elections inNovember. But the picture's not that clear cut.

A new AP poll finds that Americans who think the law should have done more outnumberthose who think the government should stay out of health care by 2-to-1.

"I was disappointed that it didn't provide universal coverage," said Bronwyn Bleakley, 35,a biology professor from Easton, Mass.

More than 30 million people would gain coverage in 2019 when the law is fully phasedin, but another 20 million or so would remain uninsured. Bleakley, who was uninsured earlyin her career, views the overhaul as a work in progress.

The poll found that about four in 10 adults think the new law did not go far enough tochange the health care system, regardless of whether they support the law, oppose it orremain neutral. On the other side, about one in five say they oppose the law because theythink the federal government should not be involved in health care at all.

The AP poll was conducted by Stanford University with the Robert Wood JohnsonFoundation. Overall, 30 percent favored the legislation, while 40 percent opposed it, andanother 30 percent remained neutral.

Those numbers are no endorsement for Obama's plan, but the survey also found a deep-seated desire for change that could pose a problem for Republicans. Only 25 percent in thepoll said minimal tinkering would suffice for the health care system.

Brian Braley, 49, a tech industry worker from Mesa, Ariz., wants Washington to keep itshands off. "I think it's a Trojan horse," Braley said of the health care law. "It's a communist,socialist scheme. All the other countries that have tried this, they're billions in debt, and theyadmit this doesn't work."

It may well satisfy people who share Braley's outlook if Republicans succeed in tearingout what they dismiss as "Obamacare" by the roots. But GOP leaders would still findthemselves in a quandary.

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Republicans "are going to have to contend with the 75 percent who want substantialchanges in the system," said Stanford political science professor Jon Krosnick, who directedthe university's participation.

"Republican legislators' passion to repeal the legislation is understandable if they arepaying attention to members of their own party," Krosnick added. "But if they want to beresponsive to all Americans, there are more Democrats and independents than there areRepublicans."

Health care proposals released by House Republican leaders last week would createnew insurance options for people with medical problems and for small businesses, butthey're likely to only cover a fraction of those who would be reached by Obama's law.

The poll did find some agreement among people who think the law should do more andthose who think government should get out.

Broad majorities of both the "get-outs" and "do-mores" said medical care, healthinsurance and prescription drugs cost too much. And most said the system should aim toincrease the number of people with insurance and enable Americans to get the care theyneed, while improving quality.

The differences emerge when it comes to the means:

_Only 25 percent of the "get-outs" favor requiring health insurance companies to sellcoverage to people regardless of pre-existing medical conditions, while 54 percent of the"do-mores" support it. The law requires insurers to cover children regardless of healthproblems starting this year, and that protection is extended to people of all ages in 2014.

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_Among those who want a law that does more, 68 percent favor requiring medium tolarge companies to provide insurance to their workers or pay a fine; that stands at 28 percentamong those who want the government out. The law does not require employers to offercoverage, but it hits companies that have 50 or more workers with a penalty if any full-timeemployee gets a government subsidy for health insurance.

_The "get-outs" overwhelmingly reject the health care law's requirement that mostAmericans carry health insurance starting in 2014. But the "do-mores" are split, with 34percent favoring the mandate, 33 percent opposing it, and 32 percent neutral.

Tom Gergel, 45, of West Chester, Pa., said he supports the health care law because itmoves toward coverage for all and does away with denial of coverage to people in poorhealth. But he doesn't think it's perfect.

"Is this program going to make it more expensive?" asked Gergel, who sells computersoftware for engineers. "The jury's still out versus where we are now. We have the besthealth care in the world for those who can afford to pay for it, but it doesn't work foreveryone."

The survey was conducted Aug. 31 to Sept. 7, and involved interviews with 1,251randomly chosen adults nationwide. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9percentage points.

The survey was conducted by Knowledge Networks, which first chose people for thestudy using randomly generated telephone numbers and home addresses. Once peoplewere selected to participate, they were interviewed online. Participants without Internetaccess were provided it for free.

Stanford University's participation in the project was made possible by a grant from theRobert Wood Johnson Foundation.

___

Associated Press writer Natasha Metzler and News Survey Specialist Dennis Juniuscontributed to this report.

Filed by Hunter Stuart | Report Corrections

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Comments5,012Pending Comments0View FAQView AllFavoritesHighlightsThis feature highlights some of our more thought-provoking conversations.Recency | PopularityPage: 1 2 3 4 5 Next › Last » (72 total) 1 of 18 COMMUNITY PUNDITS

ACLU Card Carrier 06:21 PM on 9/25/20102010 FansBecome a fanUnfanThis is only the beginning, folks.

Eventually, a Single Payer system will be in place & we can officially join the civilized world. All paradigm shifts go through convulsions like this.. it's how our Nation was born. Tom Paineadvocated a social safety net... including healthcare for all, care for the aged & the poor, &many other visionary images of an America Read More... centuries later. Healthcare is a basic human right... & so far, nobody has provided a cogent rebuttal to that veryAmerican precept. If one's physical (& emotional) wellbeing isnʼt such a right.. then there arenone, anywhere. Most if not all religious & spiritual foundations espouse a ʻgodlikeʼ virtue in "healing"… it'singrained in the psyche of all human beings to want to be ʻwellʼ.... as basic a need as there is,right up with self-preservation.... what makes us ʻpeopleʼ. If given a choice between health & wealth, which would you honestly think most wouldchoose? As Americans, our Constitution enumerates it in the very first sentence.... mandating that ourGovernment "Promote the General Welfare" & if our health & safety is not on the top of that list,

61682110,61670719,61688779,61676612,61712276,61701805,61698653,61725840,61703653,61695042,61670358,61687151,61700881,61703790,61680606,61686310,61712330,61719635 Page: 1 2 3 4 5 Next › Last » (72 total)

I'd be hard pressed to know what is. If not a "right", then we would be relegating this primal need to the banality of "stuff"... ...acommodity, or worse, a "privilege" of the rich, which is anathema to everything an enlightenedsociety stands for & everything our Founders risked their lives to create. .

Favorite (36) Flag as Abusive (0)ACLU_Card_Carrier: This is only the beginning, folks.<br>&nbsp;<br>Eventually, a Single

Payer systemhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/ACLU_Card_Carrier/ap-poll-repeal-many-wish-

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