Employee Benefit News, www.benefitnews.comThe majority of Americans (56%) continue to believe that taking action on health reform is “more important than ever,” according to the July Kaiser Health Tracking Poll. However, than number is down 5% from June’s 61% support.

“The public wants help with their health care bills and supports health reform, but the hotter the debate and the longer it lasts, the more anxious the public will become,” says Drew Altman, president and CEO of Kaiser.

While 32% of respondents say legislation won’t make a difference for them or their family, most (39%) believe their family will be better off, with 21% responding that they will be worse off.

The number believing they will be worse off if reform passes has doubled since February, from 11% to 21%, along with the proportion who believe the country will be worse off (12% to 23%).

The percentage of respondents willing to pay more for expanding health coverage has increased from 41% in June to 51% in the latest poll.

Other results of the poll include measures that make the public feel more likely to support health reform if it:

 Allowed them to keep their own doctor or health plan (74%)
 Would ensure financial health of Medicare (67%)
 Would cover pre-existing conditions (66%)
 Won’t increase budget deficit (63%)
 Would provide financial help to get health insurance for those who need it (63%)
 Would save the country money over time (63%)
 Provided higher quality of care for Medicare patients (59%)

Conversely, they would be less likely to support reform if it:

 Was going to increase premiums/out-of-pocket costs (66%)
 Would result in cuts in Medicare that would make doctors less willing to participate (62%)
 Limited their own choice of doctors (62%)
 Got government too involved in their health care (59%)
 Would reduce quality of care in Medicare (58%)
 Would increase taxes (58%)
 Would increase the budget deficit (45%)

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This entry was posted by Adam V. Russo on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Health Care Legislation, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.