A Zogby International/O’Leary Report poll of 4,200 likely voters has some startling results concerning attitudes toward health-care reform:
Asked if they agree or disagree that the federal government should require all Americans to purchase health insurance or face a fine — a provision favored by Democrats — 70.2 percent said they disagree, and only 18.5 percent agree. The rest are not sure.
A resounding 75 percent of respondents said that taxes should not be raised to fund a government-run health insurance program for Americans who do not have health insurance.
The pollsters stated: “President Obama is promoting a new government agency called the ‘Independent Medicare Advisory Council,’ and some people believe this agency should use its powers to deny payment for procedures it deems unnecessary or futile.”
Critics say such power would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship, the pollsters noted, and many consider it a form of healthcare rationing. Nearly 59 percent said they oppose the creation of the council, and just 30.6 percent support it.
Some Republicans have called for provisions allowing Americans to purchase health insurance from providers outside their state as an alternative to Obama’s proposed government-supported “public option” insurance plan. Respondents said they favor such provisions by an overwhelming margin, 82.8 percent to 6.9 percent.
Other findings: 78.5 percent believe tort reform is needed, and 77.3 percent oppose taxing employer-provided health-care benefits.
The numbers are dramatically worse for ObamaCare in this poll than in other polls. Part of the explanation lies in the sample—likely voters seem to hate ObamaCare a lot more than do Americans generally (who may not even be registered to vote). Moreover, getting voters to think about specific aspects of the plan rather than the broad question of whether they like the “House Democrats’ plan” or “the president’s plan” (neither of which yet exist in fixed form) reveals just how averse to a government takeover of health care are those who will head to the polls in 2010. Any lawmaker whose seat is unsafe might want to mull that over.
