The public's take on "the president's proposal"By Jon Cohen |
February 22, 2010 -Washington Post
Determined to push ahead on major reform of the country's
health-care system, the White House today
<http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/summary-presi\
dents-proposal.pdf> stitched together a series of proposals that have
broad, but often malleable, public support. Of course, many of these
ideas were in the House and Senate packages that have divided Americans
since last summer, putting the focus on the politics of a "reset" as
much as on the substance of the new 12-page framework.
Here's how the items in the plan stack up in the polls, where data are
available. (Some bullet points -- such as the call to curtail "waste,
fraud and abuse" -- hardly need polls to assess their popularity.)
"It sets up a new competitive health insurance market giving tens of
millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of
Congress will have." A new Newsweek poll shows 81 percent support for a
"new insurance marketplace -- the Exchange -- that allows people without
health insurance to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive
rates."
"It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing
conditions." In a Washington Post-ABC News poll this month, 80 percent
said insurance companies should be required to sell coverage to people
regardless of preexisting conditions; 67 percent said so "strongly."
"It puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the
deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years." A January poll by the
Kaiser Family Foundation found that 56 percent of those surveyed would
be more likely to back a reform package that reduced "the federal
deficit by at least $132 billion over 10 years."
It talks about "closing the Medicare prescription drug 'donut hole'
coverage gap." In a Kaiser poll in late November, 68 percent of
Americans said closing this coverage gap is an "extremely" or "very"
important component of reform. The January Kaiser poll showed that 60
percent were "more likely" to support a reform bill if it helped fill
the gap.
A plan for a new "individual mandate" is outlined under the heading
"Improve Individual Responsibility." In the most recent Post-ABC poll,
56 percent said they back a requirement "for all Americans to have
health insurance, either from their employer or from another source,
with tax credits or other aid to help low-income people pay for it." On
this question, polls have consistently revealed wide swings in opinion
depending on the details. For example, a June Post-ABC poll had support
for the individual mandate range from 44 percent if sanctions were
included for noncompliance to 70 percent if a tax credit accompanied the
rule. (The president's proposal features both.)
An "employer mandate" is branded "Strengthen Employer Responsibility."
The February Post-ABC poll showed 72 percent support for requiring
businesses to offer private health insurance for their full-time
employees. A June Post-ABC poll found that 62 percent backed a
requirement that businesses provide insurance or "pay money into a
government health insurance fund." But the new Newsweek poll finds broad
opposition -- 62 percent -- to fines on larger business that don't offer
insurance and on individuals who don't get it (the poll asked about
these together). In the January Kaiser poll, 45 percent said they were
more likely, but 33 percent said they were less likely, to favor a bill
that "penalize[d] all but the smallest employers if they don't offer
health insurance to their workers."
The new proposals also include new taxes on individuals with incomes
above $200,000 and joint-filers who make more than $250,000: "Broaden
the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Tax Base for High-Income
Taxpayers." In the June Post-ABC poll, 60 percent supported raising
taxes on these higher-income individuals to pay for health-care reform.
And in a January Post-ABC poll, 58 percent preferred a tax targeted at
wealthier Americans rather than new levies on high-benefit plans,
matching the rebalancing in the president's plan (see: "Delay and Reform
the High-Cost Plan Excise Tax"). The new plan does include a tax on
"Cadillac" plans, which is opposed by 55 percent in the new Newsweek
poll.
"Within months of legislation being enacted, it requires plans to cover
adult dependents up to age 26." In the January Kaiser poll, 56 percent
of Americans said they would be more apt to back a plan that allowed
"children to stay on their parents' insurance plans through age 25."
http://snipurl.com/uii53 [voices_washingtonpost_com]
