In addition to the new CBS/NY Times and NBC/WSJ polls, which shows Obama as more trusted than Republicans on the issue, but with the public restive about what's coming, this new TIME poll adds flavor to the mix of what we know.
Congressional Democrats and a barnstorming President face deep skepticism from the American public about the details of their effort to change the nation's health-care system, even as enthusiasm for the prospect of reform remains high, according to a new TIME poll.
But despite the skepticism, and where the reform critics fail, is that people "get it":
At the same time, survey respondents remain dissatisfied with the current state of health-care delivery and supportive of reform in principle. Forty-six percent of respondents said it was "very important" that Congress and the President pass major health reform in the next few months, and an additional 23% said it was "somewhat important." Only 28% found the immediate effort either not very or not at all important. In a separate question, more Americans said it would be better to pass "major reform" to health care (55%) rather than "minor adjustments" (43%).
And when we look at specifics:
Sixty-three percent said they would support providing health-care coverage for all Americans, even if the government had to subsidize those who could not afford it. Fifty-six percent said they supported a "public health insurance option" to compete with private plans. Fifty-seven percent support raising taxes on those with annual incomes over $280,000 to pay for the plan. Eighty percent said they would support a bill that required insurance companies to offer coverage to anyone who applies, even those with pre-existing medical conditions. By contrast, a slight plurality of 48% opposed requiring all but the smallest businesses to provide health care, and 56% of Americans opposed taxing employer-provided health care to pay for the cost of covering the nation's uninsured.
Bottom line here, when looking at all the polls: critics in the GOP have raised doubts about Obama's plan, but he remains 15-20 points ahead of Congressional GOP in terms of public preference. And though doubts are there, especially about cost, people are anxious, fear losing what they have, and crave stability. They want details, and they want Obama to explain and reassure.
Interestingly, semi-breakthroughs in the House and Senate from the various committees have made reform more and not less likely, which in term raises both expectations and anxieties. But the angst won't go away, and it will add to the difficulties that still stand between now and a bill that will pass both chambers of Congress.
Robert Blendon has some very apt comments to make about the issue of selling the plan, including:
First, it needs to have a single bill that becomes the basis for the debate over health reform. Right now, multiple bills lead to confusion because concerns about one bill spills into all the other bills being discussed.
Critics who want to 'break' Obama will be sorely disappointed. The question remains how much disappointment is ahead for supporters of real reform.