Poll: Health Care Fix Is Welcome -- But Not The Cost

Wednesday, Jul 15,2009, 2:50:13 PM Click:

ASHINGTON - Most Americans say it is important to reform health care this year, a USA TODAY / Gallup Poll finds, but they are less enthusiastic about some of the proposals for pay.

Although most say cost control should be the goal of the legislation from the beginning, more than nine in 10 are opposed to what the limits to testing or treatment and their doctors are needed.

The results highlight the difficult path to the White House and Congress that the debate on health care enters a critical time. President Obama, who called in the House and Senate to pass bills before August, met Monday with two presidents of the Congress to try to find funding for $ 1 billion over the legislation.

"For those naysayers and cynics who think that this is not going to happen, don't bet against us," Obama said at the White House.

One advantage for the president: A third of those surveyed say they trust him and congressional Democrats most when it comes to changing health care, compared with 10% who choose congressional Republicans. Forty-five percent trust doctors and hospitals the most.

The poll of 3,026 adults, surveyed Friday through Sunday, has a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points. Some questions, asked of half the sample, have an error margin of +/-3 points.

By 56%-33%, those surveyed endorse the idea of enacting major health care changes this year. One in four say it's not important to them.

When it comes to financing the costs, six of 10 favor the idea of requiring employers to provide health insurance for their workers or pay a fee instead. Increasing income taxes on upper-income Americans, an approach backed by House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., is endorsed by 58%. Just over half support taxing sugary soft drinks.

By 53% -43%, however, respondents are opposed to the taxation of health benefits over a certain level - chairman of Senate Finance Max Baucus, D-Mont., Launched the idea - and even more are against the reduction in Medicare costs, a provision of the House and Senate plans.

"The dilemma is that Congress is trying to solve two problems simultaneously: to save money and ensure more people," says Robert Blendon, professor of health policy at Harvard University. Those cost-oriented may have little tolerance for paying higher taxes to cover the uninsured, he said.

In the survey, 52% choose cost control is more important, 42% list to expand coverage.