Americans Prefer Health Care Status Quo to Obamacare
Given the high percentage of Americans who are satisfied with the current health care, it’s no wonder that polls have repeatedly shown (at least since this summer) that we prefer the status quo to the various health care plans proposed by President Obama and the Democrats. In July, Rasmussen found that a plurality opposed health care reforms which would require a tax hike (as does the Baucus plan which emerged earlier this week, with a solid majority disapproving if the reforms would change their current plan:
Given a choice between health care
reform and a tax hike or no health care reform and no tax hike, 47% would prefer to avoid the tax hike and do without reform. Forty-one percent (41%) take the opposite view.
The opposition is stronger when asked about a choice between health care reform that would require changing existing health insurance coverage or no health care reform and no change from current coverage. In that case, voters oppose reform by a 54% to 32% margin.
A new FoxNews poll offers a similar result:
More Americans would rather Congress do nothing than pass Obama’s plan: 46 percent to 37 percent of people polled say they prefer the current health care system to the one the president has proposed.
Not just that, “more people oppose — 48 percent — the health care reform legislation being considered right now than favor it — 38 percent.” Interestingly, this poll seems to skew more pro-Obama than the most recent Gallup poll, with Fox showing the President enjoyed a 54 percent approval rating while Gallup pegs him at 51. Perhaps that’s because the partisan sample in this poll is more heavily Democratic, “42% Democrat, 31% Republican, and 21% Independent.“
This poll really does undermine the central argument that President has made in pushing his plan, that we absolutely, positively must act now before our health care system goes to hell in a handbasket:
From the start of the health-care debate, the president has always posed a choice (one as “false” as any of the “false choices” he routinely derides): my way or the status quo. And the status quo is supposed to be so awful, so unacceptable, that of course we’ll take ObamaCare. Forget for a moment the myriad of alternatives to ObamaCare. It seems the public is calling Obama’s bluff.
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“more people oppose — 48 percent — the health care reform legislation being considered right now than favor it — 38 percent.””
And really interestingly, the numbers before the August craziness were 34 in favor, 49 opposed. Seems like all this “grassroots revolution” backfired.
The poll also shows a 4% drop in GOP idenitification over the last month, and a 3% Dem gain. I guess there is a real turning away from the extremism and ugliness.
Comment by Tano — September 18, 2009 @ 12:49 pm - September 18, 2009
Sure, but how many of those polled believe all the nonsense that FOX has been propagating about the reform. The picture on the FOX website shows a sign saying “No to gov’t take over of health care.” The people are so often woefully uninformed, and FOX only makes that worse.
Comment by PensiveGadfly — September 18, 2009 @ 1:05 pm - September 18, 2009
These polls are great news for freedom loving Americans.
After the huge push by our young President, is his arsenal empty?
I also saw a poll on independent Fox News that said the people prefer private health insurance to govt insurance 64%-22%.
I think that 22% represents the hard core socialist liberal Democrats. obama isn’t making any headway. What else can he try now that the joint session of Congress lie has failed misrably?
One thing they haven’t tried is to say they, members of Congress, the President, all government workers would forgo private plans and go with state run health care immediately. Have the President VP all members of Congress start to go to a VA hospital immediately for any treatment. No exceptions. It may garner them some credibility.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 18, 2009 @ 2:02 pm - September 18, 2009
Tano-
Wow. You are seriously delusional. I am curious what sources you get your news from. Do you live in an urban center? Do you speak with people outside your martini circles?
Comment by Bruce (GayPatriot) — September 18, 2009 @ 3:38 pm - September 18, 2009
Imagine if all you watched on tv was Msnbc and all you read was dailykoscrazy. Oh and the only movies you went to were Michael Moores and Oliver Stones. hehe
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 18, 2009 @ 4:17 pm - September 18, 2009
Bruce,
I really dont understand your comment. How is it that I am delusional? I merely reported numbers from a poll that you guys linked to. IF you have an alternative explanation for why support for Obamacare has gone up, and support for Reps has gone down – as the poll data clearly shows, then please share.
Comment by Tano — September 18, 2009 @ 5:02 pm - September 18, 2009
“I also saw a poll on independent Fox News that said the people prefer private health insurance to govt insurance 64%-22%.”
So great. Lets have a system where those who prefer private plans can have their private plans, and those who want gov’g insurance can have that. Glad to welcome you aboard Gene.
Comment by Tano — September 18, 2009 @ 5:03 pm - September 18, 2009
Gene I think that you just summed up Tano and Gillie…. to a T….
Comment by thestraightaussie — September 18, 2009 @ 6:22 pm - September 18, 2009
The facebook poll is even more dramatic with 77% opposed to the proposal…It is not scientific but it sure is explaining how people are responding.
These are people who are not against health reform. It is the proposal… they seek other means of reform.
Comment by thestraightaussie — September 18, 2009 @ 6:24 pm - September 18, 2009
And you can’t figure out why Bruce could possibly find you delusional?
Further, the problem with that is that the people who don’t want State-run medicine will have to pay for their own AND those who do want it. That’s part of the problem we have now.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — September 18, 2009 @ 7:38 pm - September 18, 2009
Liberal Democrats have no idea how capitalism works. Any company that doesn’t make profits after expenses, fails, goes out of business, Unless they are unionized and Barack Obama comes in and subsidizes their bumbling. How can any private health insurance company, that depends on profits to exist, compete with any govt health insurance plan that doesn’t have to make a profit? As a matter of fact from the USPS to AMTRAK to GM, govt run plans lose money, the masses subsidize them and competing private companies will go out of business. That’s why thinking people know that whether it is one year or 5 years, eventually all private health ins companies will shrivell up and die. Then Obamas original plan takes effect and they all go home laughing. Single payer, one plan, one government plan. Just like he’s said all along. Only fools expect otherwise. I’m no fool. I didn’t vote for the man.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 18, 2009 @ 8:38 pm - September 18, 2009
Did I hear Obamateleprompter was going to be on 5 shows Sunday?
I hope he plans to explain abandoning the Poles and Czechs. And record unemployment. And Irans nuke capacity. And Carter and Pelsoi stoking the racial fires. And the price of GOLD rising to record levels because of inflation fears. And 42 states (up from 29 the previous month) shedding jobs in August. And Van Jones and other non vetted Czars. And how did Michelles garden come in. And what does he think of the bus full of black kids beating up the one white kid. These would be great starter questions. I’m not sure what else he’d be there to talk about……
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 18, 2009 @ 8:45 pm - September 18, 2009
‘How can any private health insurance company, that depends on profits to exist, compete with any govt health insurance plan that doesn’t have to make a profit?”
Oh gee Gene, I dunno. Maybe the way private colleges and universities manage to exist even though there a some very excellent state schools, in every state.
Comment by Tano — September 18, 2009 @ 10:52 pm - September 18, 2009
Maybe the way private colleges and universities manage to exist even though there a some very excellent state schools, in every state.
So that’s the latest talking point from the Obama campaign.
Here’s a question; how would private colleges and universities do if they had these kind of laws imposed on them?
1) They must accept all students regardless of ability and guarantee the student graduates
2) They will be heavily taxed and penalized on any courses or curriculums they offer that are greater than the state-subsidized university
3) They cannot charge more than the state-subsidized university does
4) They must pay taxes, while the state-subsidized university does not
5) They must pay their own expenses, while the state-subsidized university is allowed to write off all its expenses to other government departments
6) They are forbidden from raising tuition to cover costs
These are all things that the Obama plan intends to do to private health insurance. The lies that Tano and his fellow Obama parrots tell fall apart when they are examined using facts.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — September 19, 2009 @ 12:25 am - September 19, 2009
#14: Tano responding to NDT’s annihilation of his idiotic point by telling him to “take his meds” in 3, 2, 1…
Comment by Sean A — September 19, 2009 @ 6:15 pm - September 19, 2009