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Americans Want New Health Care System
- Many adults in the United States believe their medical services should function in a different way, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 51 per cent of respondents believe the current health care system should be replaced, up two points in a year.
Health care in the U.S. is based on a system of benefits provided by employers, as well as the Medicare and Medicaid programs which allocate health insurance for the elderly, disabled and poor. Around 45 million Americans are uninsured.
On Aug. 22, U.S. president George W. Bush discussed his health care policies, saying, "I would say there's a choice between having the government make decisions or consumers make decisions. I stand on the side of encouraging consumers. I think the most important relationship in health care is between the patient and their provider, the patient and the doctor. And health care policy ought to be aimed at bolstering the consumer, empowering individuals to be responsible for health care decisions."
In October, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Howard Dean vowed to "do something for ordinary American families such as (.) finally dealing with health insurance, like 36 other countries in the world have." 69 per cent of respondents think it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have health care coverage.
American voters renewed the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate on Nov. 7. The Democratic Party will take control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994, with at least 232 lawmakers. A victory for the Democratic candidates for the Senate in Montana and Virginia also gave the party a majority in the upper house.
Polling Data
Which of the following approaches for providing healthcare in the United States would you prefer: replacing the current healthcare system with a new government run healthcare system, or maintaining the current system based mostly on private health insurance?
Nov. 2006 | Nov. 2005 | Nov. 2004 | |
Replacing the current system | 51% | 49% | 32% |
Maintaining the current system | 39% | 41% | 63% |
No opinion | 10% | 10% | 5% |
Do you think it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have health care coverage, or is that not the responsibility of the federal government?
Nov. 2006 | Nov. 2005 | Nov. 2004 | |
Yes | 69% | 58% | 64% |
No | 28% | 38% | 34% |
No opinion | 3% | 4% | 2% |
Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,004 American adults, conducted from Nov. 9 to Nov. 12, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.