Well, a plurality of them do.
Would you favor or oppose the government offering everyone a government administered health insurance plan -- something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get -- that would compete with private health insurance plans?
Total Rep Dem Ind Aug09a
Favor 65 47 81 61 60
Oppose 26 42 12 30 34
DK/NA 9 11 7 9 6
CBS/NYT Poll (PDF)[Emphasis added]
(Hat tip to TPM for this headline.)
47% of the public who identified themselves as Republicans favor a public option; only 42% oppose it. If that number gets enough play, it should make Republican senators even more conflicted than they are now: Their base and their donors make not like public option, but the voters who keep them in office certainly do - even voters from their own party. It should also help Democrats grow some spine: 81% of Democrats and 61% of independents want the public option.
But of course there is a complication: Probably one reason they answered the question this way is because it was posed as an extension of medicare. Which is interesting, because
As for Medicare, more think the program will get worse instead of better. Seniors are especially concerned: 38% think if the changes to the health care system are implemented, the Medicare program will become worse. Only 6% think it would improve.
That suggests, to me, that there is both opportunity and peril here: People like the idea of medicare, but worry about its future. So the sale of the public option has to keep several ideas going at once:
- Medicare works.
- Health care reform will NOT hurt medicare.
- "Public option" means the government will offer medicare-style insurance to everyone, not just seniors.
There's a lot more in the poll, but here is one piece that caught my eye:
Overall, three in four Americans see the need for fundamental changes in the U.S. health care system, although the percentage who thinks it needs to be completely rebuilt has slowly dropped over the past five months, from 38% in April to 27% now. Likewise, the percentage of Americans that thinks only minor changes are needed – now nearly one in five – has risen since April. [Emphasis added]
This is ammunition against those who can't seem to see anything wrong with the way things are now. Actually, that is not going to change the minds of those who are being paid not to see reality. But, again, it puts meat on the spines (!) of Democrats who may be reluctant to make these changes - 78% of the country wants either "fundamental change" (51%) or say the system needs "to be rebuilt" (27%).
One last observation:
Americans who report having at least one large health insurance claim in their household within the past few years also seem satisfied with the coverage they received. 85% said their insurance paid for most of their costs, and 80% said their insurance covered as much or more than they expected.
Still, Americans are less satisfied with the cost of their health care than the quality – just 48% say they are satisfied with their health care costs, while 47% say they are not. Those with insurance are only slightly more satisfied than Americans overall.
This suggests that the argument that "your claim can be denied" is not resonating as well as "your insurance costs too much." While both arguments have power, the latter may get more attention, particularly if we can tie it to the overall economy - something the White House hasn't been doing as much as it needs to.
If we do not bring down the cost of health care, the country will go bankrupt. Period. We need to invest - not spend, invest - money now, even in this bad economy, in order to help the economy recover, and keep it from getting worse.
Americans, while generous as individuals, are often remarkably selfish as a society. Too many people have bought into two common myths: The cowboy or lone frontiersman mentality, where the hero makes it on his own without (or even in spite of) the government; and the Calvinist-derived notion that your problems are your own fault, and therefore the fortunate have no obligation to help the unfortunate. That mentality is not going to change, but we can play it to our advantage by selling health care reform in terms of what it will do for those who have it - "your costs will go down" will get more attention, this poll suggests, than "your claim won't be rejected" and will - unfortunately - sell a lot better than "this will cover everyone." Even though it will.