Poll: Public Still Divided on HCR - Significant # of People Struggling as Weak Economy Continues

[ehrnst]

• As 2010 draws to a close, the latest monthly Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll shows the public still divided in their views of the health reform law, a sentiment largely unchanged since the law’s enactment in March. Forty-two percent of Americans say they have a generally favorable view of the law, while 41 percent have a generally unfavorable view of it.

• Seniors, generally more critical of the law than younger people, seem to be softening in their opposition as the national discussion shifts to the federal budget and deficit. The share of those aged 65 and up holding unfavorable views of health reform dropped to 40 percent in December, the lowest since the passage of the law. At the same time, the proportion of seniors who are withholding opinion on the law rose to 26 percent, up ten percentage points since the immediate post-election period in November. Thirty-four percent of seniors have a favorable view of the law, a figure that has changed little since the spring.

• As the weak economy continues, the survey finds that a significant number of people are struggling to stay afloat financially. One in four say their household has had trouble paying medical bills over the past year, and 54 percent say they have delayed needed medical care because of cost. Such problems are more prevalent among lower income and uninsured Americans, 36 percent and 48 percent of whom, respectively, report having trouble paying medical bills. Among the uninsured, 85 percent say they have put off needed care because of cost. Beyond health care, many people report having problems getting a good-paying job or a pay raise (41%); losing money in the stock market (35%); suffering cutbacks in pay or work hours (32%); having trouble paying their rent or mortgage (25%); losing a job (23%); and having problems paying for food (23%).

• Newspapers, radio news, or other online news sources continue to be the most common channels through which Americans receive information about health reform, with two-thirds of Americans saying they learn about the law that way. Almost as many say they have gotten information about the law through friends and family (64%) and via cable TV news channels and websites (61%). Fifty-eight percent say they get such information through national broadcast network news channels and websites. The survey also suggests that Americans are beginning to hear about the law from their health insurance companies; 22 percent say they have gotten information that way. At the same time, 17 percent of people overall, and 25 percent of those who have a job, say they have gotten information about the new law through an employer. Government and government websites also are becoming a direct source of information, with 17 percent of Americans reporting that they received information about the law from federal agencies and 14 percent saying they have heard about it from state agencies.

http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/8127.cfm

[Proud Liberal Dem]

1. It seems a little silly to be polling people on a plan that hasn't been fully implemented yet

n/t