Level of government involvement with health care if the proposed reforms pass: 5 out 10 believe the federal government will become directly involved in making personal health care decisions (80 percent of Republicans, 25 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of Independents)
However only 3 out of 10 Americans believe that the government will require the elderly to make decisions about how and when they will die (53 percent of Republicans, 14 percent of Democrats, 31 percent of Independents) a topic that has received a considerable amount of media attention.
Impact on current health insurance coverage if the proposed reforms are passed: Interestingly, fewer people surveyed believe statements regarding the impact of proposed reforms on current health insurance coverage.
Only 29 percent of respondents believe that private insurance coverage would be eliminated (44 percent of Republicans, 11 percent of Democrats, 33 percent of Independents) and only 33 percent believed that reforms would result in the elimination of employer-sponsored health insurance coverage (56 percent of Republicans, 14 percent of Democrats, 31 percent of Independents).
Additionally, only 36 percent of Americans believes that a public insurance option will put private insurance companies out of business (56 percent of Republicans, 18 percent of Democrats, 35 percent of Independents).
Costs of the proposed reforms and how the reforms will be paid for:
Almost 6 out of 10 Americans believe that a public insurance option as proposed would be too expensive for the United States to afford (84 percent of Republicans, 27 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents).
51 percent believe that the public insurance option will increase health care costs (79 percent of Republicans, 21 percent of Democrats, 53 percent of Independents), and 54 percent believe that the public option will increase premiums
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| Contact: Mary Hardin mhardin@iupui.edu 317-274-7722 Indiana University Source:Eurekalert |