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Americans Support Health Insurance Guarantee
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States are open to the federal government guaranteeing health insurance for all citizens, even if it means raising taxes, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. 57 per cent of respondents favour this concept, while 36 per cent oppose it.
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 47 million Americans are uninsured.
Last month, during the final presidential debate, Republican nominee John McCain declared: "[Democratic presidential nominee Barack] Obama wants to set up health care bureaucracies, take over the health care of America through—as he said, his object is a single payer system. If you like that, you’ll love Canada and England."
On Oct. 31, Obama discussed his health care proposal, saying, "If you’ve got health insurance, the only thing that will change out of my plan is we will lower your premiums. [People] who aren’t insured now would have access to the type of coverage federal employees and members of Congress get."
U.S. president George W. Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The U.S. presidential election will take place tomorrow.
Polling Data
All in all, do you favour or oppose the U.S. government guaranteeing health insurance for all citizens, even if it means raising taxes?
|
Favour |
57% |
|
Oppose |
36% |
|
Not sure |
7% |
Source: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,532 registered American voters, conducted from Oct. 23 to Oct. 26, 2008. Margin of error is 2.8 per cent.