(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States believe their medical services are due for a transformation, according to a poll by CBS News and the New York Times. 50 per cent of respondents think the health care system requires fundamental changes, and 35 per cent want to completely rebuild it.

Conversely, only 14 per cent believe the health care system works pretty well and only minor changes are necessary to make it work better.

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.

Yesterday, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Howard Dean discussed the role of health care in this year’s presidential election, saying, "It is a big issue. It’s one of those issues that people are going to quietly vote on. (...) Health care is important because it’s a critical part of a family’s economy, and [Democratic presidential nominee] Barack Obama thinks that every family ought to have a doctor, and that we ought to make sure that they can’t lose their health care because they have a pre-existing condition. [Republican presidential nominee John] McCain essentially wants to tax your health care benefits, and Obama wants a system where everybody has health insurance that can’t be taken away."

American voters will elect a new president, and renew the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate on Nov. 4.

Polling Data

Which of the following three statements comes closest to expressing your overall view of the health care system in the United States? On the whole, the health care system works pretty well and only minor changes are necessary to make it work better; or, There are some good things in our health care system, but fundamental changes are needed; or, Our health care system has so much wrong with it that we need to completely rebuild it.

Source: CBS News / New York Times
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,133 American adults, conducted from Sept. 12 to Sept. 16, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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