Key Health Care Proposals Get Bipartisan Public Support -- Though Debate Has Increased Political Polarization

Key Health Care Proposals Get Bipartisan Public Support -- Though Debate Has
Increased Political Polarization

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being
distributed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University
of Maryland:

A new poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO) finds that over the last year, as
the health care debate has intensified, a bipartisan consensus that the
government is responsible for ensuring access to health care has fractured.
Nonetheless, a majority of the public still says the government is responsible
for basic health care, and there is bipartisan support for numerous key reform
proposals including a limited public option, regulation of the health
insurance industry, tort reform, and cross-state purchasing.

In 2008, asked whether the US government "should be responsible for ensuring
that its citizens can meet their basic need for health care," 77% said that it
should be, including clear majorities of all parties. However, the new WPO
poll finds that Republican support for the proposition has dropped from 55%
support to 29%. Overall, support has dropped 17 points, but 60% still say
that government is responsible.

However, there is bipartisan support for many specific proposals including a
limited public option available only to those who cannot get health insurance
from an employer, 75% overall, including 59% of Republicans. A requirement
that insurance companies accept every applicant for coverage has overwhelming
support, 82% overall, 90% of Democrats, 80% of independents, and 73% of
Republicans.

Government regulation of malpractice suits against doctors has modest support
-- 55%, while cross-state purchasing of insurance is strongly supported by
large majorities of Americans across the partisan spectrum.

As debate over health care reform rages in Congress, only 24% percent of the
public say the debate is drawing them closer to the Democrats' ideas and just
21% closer to the Republicans' ideas. But fifty percent say they are less
supportive of both parties' ideas.

Steven Kull, director of WPO comments, "The bad news is that the current
partisan debate seems to be fracturing the public consensus on the role of
government in health care. The good news is that among the public Republicans
and Democrats are still able to find common ground on specific reforms."

The national survey of Americans was fielded September 26-October 5, 2009 by
Knowledge Networks. All questions had over 800 respondents with margin of
error from +/- 2.6 to 3.5 percentage points.

SOURCE Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of
Maryland

Steven Kull, WorldPublicOpinion.org, +1-202-232-7500; or Christine Jacobs,
Brookings Institution, +1-202-797-6012