By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-09-30 13:35:35 | Word Count: 1162
Iowans are conflicted about proposed changes to the nation's health care system, a new Iowa Poll shows.
The poll, taken last week for The Des Moines Register, finds that Iowans tend to oppose the congressional reform effort in general, but they support many of the specific proposals.
[ advertisement ]
When asked how they feel about the overall health reform plans, 47 percent of Iowans say they're opposed, and 43 percent say they're in favor.
However, most Iowans say they like specific reform ideas, such as health care co-ops, a national insurance exchange, a requirement that employers offer policies, and a requirement that U.S. residents have coverage. Even one of the most controversial proposals, to create government-run "public-option" insurance plans, draws support from a slight majority. Iowans oppose only one of the six specific options noted by the poll - the idea of cutting payments to doctors and hospitals.
A national expert said the Iowa Poll's findings are consistent with those of many national polls. "When you talk about specific options, people tend to think they're pretty good ideas," said Mollyann Brodie, who oversees polling for the Kaiser Family Foundation. However, she said, many Americans worry that bills being debated in Congress will wind up costing too much and harming their families' medical care and health insurance.
Brodie, whose foundation studies health care issues, said most Americans agree on overall goals, such as covering the uninsured and controlling medical costs. But many doubt that the government can achieve those goals.
As is being seen nationwide, the Iowa Poll found that people's feelings about health reform are strongly influenced by their personal politics.
In general, 76 percent of Democrats support the efforts. That compares with 9 percent support among Republicans and 41 percent among political independents.
Partisan differences also show up when Iowans are asked about specific reform proposals. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to support each of the six ideas mentioned by the poll.
Iowans' opinions on the issues also are influenced by their personal health insurance situations. Eighty-six percent of Iowans say everyone in their home has health insurance. Among those people, only 41 percent favor health reform efforts in general. But support is 54 percent among poll participants who say someone in their home lacks health insurance.
Many Iowans are unhappy with the way Congress has been handling the issue, the poll shows. Sixty-one percent express negative feelings, saying they are frustrated, nervous or angry. Only 24 percent say they're somewhat optimistic or very optimistic about the congressional effort.
Poll participants who expressed negative attitudes about the debate in Washington, D.C., were asked to rank reasons for their feelings. Their top-ranked reason was the sense that "members of Congress are not being truthful about what is and is not being considered." Next came feelings that the proposals would be too expensive and that the plan "sounds like socialism."
Poll participant Carol Cox of Clinton agrees with all of those statements.
"I think the cost is going to be so much more than they say it's going to be, and it feels like we're getting closer and closer to socialism," Cox, a Republican, said in a follow-up interview.
Cox, 61, said she's always had good insurance through her husband's work as a school administrator, but her volunteer service brings her in contact with people who have no insurance. She wants private-market reforms that will help cover such people, but she doesn't think the government needs to expand public programs to achieve that goal.
Cox plans to sign up for Medicare when she's 65. She thinks Medicare generally is a good program, but she worries that it will be hurt by politicians' efforts to add other public insurance plans. "I'm afraid they'll rob Peter to pay Paul," she said.
Barbara Larson, 66, of Knoxville also is among those expressing frustration. Larson is a political independent who said she's been a Democrat and a Republican in the past. "Now, I'm not sending either of them my money," she said.
Members of Congress don't seem to be listening to legitimate concerns, she said. "They go to Washington, and it's like they don't have ears anymore."
Larson said she and her husband have been happy with their health insurance, which for years was through Blue Cross and now is through Medicare. She noted other polls showing most other Americans feel the same way. Some Americans are uninsured, and the country should help them, she said. "But when 80 percent are happy, why do we have to revamp the whole insurance system to cover a small percentage?"
Other poll participants said criticism of reform efforts is overblown.
Michael Higginbotham, 45, of Council Bluffs is a Democrat who supports health reform efforts. Higginbotham, a recently unemployed business manager, has good health insurance through his wife's job with the post office. He knows other people who don't have coverage, however, and he's optimistic they'll be helped by reform efforts. Higginbotham said he doubts that the angry town-hall participants shown on TV this summer represent the opinions of many Americans. "As I've watched closer, it seems like the media has used that angst to stir the pot," he said.
Higginbotham predicts that deal-making members of Congress will water down the health reform proposals. "We'll end up with less than what we intended to get, and a lot of things we didn't want," he said. Still, he said, the effort will be a good start.
David Bringman of Logan said he expects Democrats controlling Congress to pass a version of health reform. Bringman, 64, is a Democrat. He noted that many health reform opponents on TV appear to be old enough to qualify for Medicare, the federal health insurance program that covers nearly all seniors. "It's really kind of inexplicable," he said. "Medicare is a single-payer system, and it's the best thing they've got."
Bringman said he expects the United States eventually will move to a complete single-payer system, in which the government would insure everyone. The current health reform effort is a positive step, he said. "I don't think this round will address the entire problem, but I think it will advance the cause."
Author Resource:-
Quoting and Saving on your health insurance has never been easier...EasyToInsureME
EasyToInsureME offers clients the easiest way to buy individual health insurance. Free services include instant online health insurance quotes, custom proposals for each client, free phone consultations, and 10-minute application by phone. Nobody does what we do for our clients!
