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Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Half of Americans Back Universal Health Care
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States would support a major change in the way their medical services operate, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 50 per cent of respondents favour government guaranteed universal health coverage for every person in the country.
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 Sept. 17, New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton—who is seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2008—presented her $110 billion U.S. health care proposal. The plan seeks to cover "every American" and "address the needs of the 47 million uninsured and the tens of millions of workers with coverage who fear they could be one pink slip away from losing their health coverage—with no overall increase in health spending or taxes."
Former North Carolina senator John Edwards—who is also seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination—questioned the feasibility of Rodham Clinton’s proposal, saying, "I don’t believe you can sit down with lobbyists, take their money and cut a deal. If you defended the system that defeated health care, I don’t think you can be the president who brings health care."
Original Release from Rasmussen Reports
Polling Data
Do you favour or oppose government guaranteed universal health coverage for every person in the United States?
|
Favour |
50% |
|
Oppose |
34% |
|
Not sure |
16% |
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 800 likely American voters, conducted on Sept. 17 and Sept. 18, 2007. Margin of error is 4.5 per cent.