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Americans Want Government to Ensure Health Care
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in the United States think it is the government’s responsibility to make sure every citizen is covered by a health care plan, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 64 per cent of respondents agree with this idea, down five points since November 2006.
Respondents are divided on whether the current health care system should change, with 41 per cent urging for the creation of a new scheme run by the government, and 48 per cent wanting to maintain the current system, which is mostly based on private health insurance. Support for an overhaul has dropped by 10 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 47 million Americans are uninsured.
On Nov. 30, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton called on fellow presidential hopeful Barack Obama to remove television ads claiming that Obama’s proposed health care plan would "cover everyone." Neera Tanden, Rodham Clinton’s policy director, said Obama’s pledge is "misleading" because his plan "will leave 15 million Americans uninsured. Even with a generous subsidy, millions of Americans will not get health insurance."
Polling Data
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. 2007 |
Nov. 2006 |
Nov. 2005 |
|
|
Yes |
64% |
69% |
58% |
|
No |
33% |
28% |
38% |
|
No opinion |
3% |
3% |
4% |
Which of the following approaches for providing healthcare in the United States would you prefer: replacing the current health care system with a new government run health care system, or maintaining the current system based mostly on private health insurance?
|
Nov. 2007 |
Nov. 2006 |
Nov. 2005 |
|
|
Replacing the current system |
41% |
51% |
49% |
|
Maintaining the current system |
48% |
39% |
41% |
|
No opinion |
11% |
10% |
10% |
Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,001 American adults, conducted from Nov. 11 to Nov. 14, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.