From the Quinnipiac poll, the idea that everyone wants to abandon their insurance plan is laid to rest.
"American voters want their fellow countrymen to have the option of a public plan, but don't want a public plan for themselves because they are satisfied personally with their health care," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "That presents a challenge to those who want Americans to pay more to reform the system."
In fact, consistent with other numbers (ABC/WaPo in favor of creating govt competition 62-21 and CBS/NYT, 72-20), the Q-poll said:
Although 69 percent of voters nationwide say Americans should have the option of government- run health insurance, only 28 percent would choose to be covered by it, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today.
Mark Blumenthal at pollster.com had a piece on health care "satisfaction" that is important to note:
And even though Americans are satisfied with their current coverage, they also express great anxiety about the future. The CBS/New York Times survey, for example, found 49% of Americans saying they are very concerned, and 37% somewhat concerned "about the health care costs you and your family might face in the coming years" (only 13% were not at all concerned). The ABC/ Washington Post survey obtained a similar result: "A whopping 85 percent are concerned about their future costs, with 59 percent 'very' concerned."
In that regard, reluctance to change should not be construed as reluctance to see reform go forward. This Q-poll does, however, suggest there need not be overconcern about immense crowdout of private plans. There's no evidence of wholesale abandonment of private plans.
As far as how to pay for it, the Q-poll adds:
Voters say 49 - 45 percent they would pay more to reform health care, but a total of 72 percent don't want to pay more than $500 a year...
Only 15 percent of voters would be willing to pay $500 to $1,000 more in taxes each year for a health care plan that reduces costs and covers those who don't have health insurance. Another 27 percent would pay less than $500 per year, with 3 percent who would pay $1,000 to $3,000 and 45 percent who don't want to pay additional taxes.
While 54 percent of voters think the primary goal of any health care legislation should be to lower costs, 38 percent believe providing health coverage for everyone is most important.
Cost remains an issue by all acounts. Whatever plan is put forward, that's going to be a real issue, along with the public option, taxing benefits and employer mandates (though Walmart is softening on the mandates.)
Want a direct measure of the president's plan, even if undefined? CNN today:
Fifty-one percent of people surveyed say they favor the president's health care plan, with 45 percent opposed...
The poll suggests that 55 percent think the U.S. health care system is in need of a great deal of reform, with four in 10 saying only some reform is needed.
Nearly half of those questioned have more trust in the president than in congressional Republicans to handle health care overhaul, with 38 percent backing congressional Republicans over Obama.
A government-run health insurance program is one of the most contentious features of the Obama health reform proposals, with Republicans suggesting that such a plan could force health care providers out of business, forcing Americans to switch doctors. The poll indicates such arguments may not be working. (my bold)
That last bit is consistent with the Q-poll findings.
By the way, the assumption that the public plan will force switching from a private plan assumes you have a private plan. That's less and less true.
The percentage of Americans with private health insurance has hit its lowest mark in 50 years, according to two new government reports.
About 65 percent of non-elderly Americans had private insurance in 2008, down from 67 percent the year before, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"It's bad news," said Kenneth Thorpe, a health policy researcher at Emory University.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, nearly 80 percent of Americans had private coverage, according to CDC officials.
In any case, the complex mixture of worry about the future, desire for change, and concern about cost continue to set the stage for the stretch run of health reform over the next 4-6 weeks. The public option remains the people's choice, despite every effort in the senate to kill it.
Democrats, take note.