Quote from Ricter:
The numbers have flip flopped. 49% for, 40% against. Gallup.
Edit: Some of those against report that they don't feel the reform was liberal enough.
The 49/40 poll which dems are spouting was according to 1 USA today poll, the numbers are still just as brutal as before for the dems, as evidenced below from a bloomberg poll.
The poll found the percentage of Americans who favor the almost $1 trillion 10-year plan remained at about just four in 10 following the House vote on March 21 to send the bill to President Barack Obama, who signed it into law today.
Americans Remain Skeptical Over Health-Care Revamp (Update1)
Share Business ExchangeTwitterFacebook| Email | Print | A A A By Catherine Dodge
March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Americans remain skeptical about the health-care overhaul even after the U.S. House passed landmark legislation that promises to provide access to medical coverage for tens of millions of the uninsured.
At the same time, most say the government should play a role in ensuring everyone has access to affordable care, a Bloomberg National Poll shows. A majority also agree that health care is a private matter and consider the new rules approved by Congress to be a government takeover.
The poll found the percentage of Americans who favor the almost $1 trillion 10-year plan remained at about just four in 10 following the House vote on March 21 to send the bill to President Barack Obama, who signed it into law today.
âAnything called a âmassive overhaulâ will be complicated, and it is hard for people to see what is in it for them,â said J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., a Des Moines, Iowa- based firm that conducted the nationwide survey. âEven as Americans of all stripes agree there are problems with the current system, the escalating deficit makes them worry what the country can really afford.â
The poll of 1,002 adults was conducted March 19-22 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent. There was no meaningful movement of opinion the final night of interviewing, after the vote was taken.
Democratic lawmakers who approved the revamp over the unanimous objections of Republicans are counting on public support to grow once voters see the benefits of the legislation, which places new restrictions on insurers from denying coverage to people.
Campaign Issue
Republicans vow to make health care an issue in Novemberâs congressional elections, saying Democrats ignored the will of their constituents.
Obama, rallying House Democrats before the vote, told lawmakers heâs âconfidentâ the legislation âwill end up being the smart thing to do politically because I believe that good policy is good politics.â
Sherry Stearns of Owego, New York, remains opposed to the legislation, saying it doesnât do enough to lower costs or help the uninsured.
âThere are a lot of people who are out there suffering, and I see it on a daily basis,â says the 44-year-old nurse. More needs to be done to get drugmakers to lower the costs of medicines and for medical centers to reduce the cost of their services, she says.
Of those surveyed, about half say the cost of doing nothing on health care will be greater than the price tag for the legislative overhaul.
Government Takeover
While more than six of 10 respondents agree the government should play a role in ensuring Americans have health care, 53 percent say the plan amounts to a government-run system. Yet six of 10 also say individuals should be responsible for making sure their health-care needs are met.
Democrats hailed the health-care passage as a historic follow-on to the 1965 creation of the Medicare program for the elderly and a way to curb soaring health costs that make up a sixth of the U.S. economy.
Mary Holley, 59, of Edenton, North Carolina, says sheâs worked all her life mostly in a factory and is now unemployed and canât afford insurance.
âSomeone has to care about the little people,â says Holley, who supports the overhaul.
One thing the vast majority of Americans agree on: Health care is complicated. Three-fourths of respondents say the issue is so complex that itâs hard for the average American to understand the proposals that were debated.
âIt is difficult to understand, but the part that I do understand is whatâs best for me,â says Holley.
Poll respondents also agree that the U.S. health-care system needs improvement. Only 20 percent of those surveyed say the system is fine the way it is.
Nonetheless, almost half of respondents said action could wait.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a2R1ChNYjoag
