Rasmussen's WSJ op-ed claims "biggest obstacle is the 68%... who rate their health coverage as good"

[ProSense]

Health Reform and the Polls

Obama’s biggest obstacle is the 68% of voters who rate their health coverage as good or excellent.

By SCOTT RASMUSSEN

For all the back and forth about the “public option,” Congressional Budget Office estimates and proposed tax hikes, the fundamentals are really what make health-care reform a hard sell to American voters. As members of Congress head home for the August recess, they should take a close look at some poll numbers before they attempt to pass any new legislation.

The most important fundamental is that 68% of American voters have health-insurance coverage they rate good or excellent. That number comes from polling conducted this past weekend of 1,000 likely voters. Most of these voters approach the health-care reform debate fearing that they have more to lose than to gain.

Adding to President Barack Obama’s challenge as he sells health-care reform to the public is the fact that most voters are skeptical about the government’s ability to do anything well. While the president says his plan will reduce costs, 53% believe it will have the opposite effect.

There’s also the reality that 74% of voters rate the quality of care they now receive as good or excellent. And 50% fear that if Congress passes health-care reform, it will lead to a decline in the quality of that care.

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.........................................................Rasmussen = FAIL


Poll: "Seven in 10 Americans favor the passage of new healthcare reform legislation"

Still, Mr. Obama remains the dominant figure in the debate, both because he continues to enjoy relatively high levels of public support even after seeing his approval ratings fall off somewhat, and because there appears to be such a strong desire to get something done: 49 percent said they supported fundamental changes and another 33 percent said the health care system needed to be completely rebuilt.

The poll found 66 percent of respondents were concerned that they might eventually lose their insurance if the government does not create a new health care system, and 80 percent said they were concerned the percentage of Americans without health care would continue to increase unless Congress acts.

By a margin of 55 percent to 26 percent, respondents said that Mr. Obama had better ideas about how to change health care than Republicans in Congress.

There is overwhelming support for a bipartisan agreement on health care, and here again, Mr. Obama appears in the stronger position: 59 percent said that Mr. Obama was making an effort to work with Congressional Republicans, while just 33 percent said Republicans were trying to work with Mr. Obama on the issue.

Overall, the poll portrays a nation torn by conflicting impulses — and confusion.

In one finding, 75 percent of respondents said they were concerned that the cost of their own health care cost would go up if the government did not create a system of providing health care for all Americans. But 77 percent said they were concerned the cost of health care would go up if the government did create such a system.

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Republicans are losing the health care debate

Despite the sturm und drang among politicians, a public plan generates barely a ripple of controversy among voters. In the last two months, no fewer than eight polls have found strong majorities favoring a public plan. When different pollsters, using different methods and different wording, all converge on the same answer, you can bet the public really does support a public option.

The highest level of support came in a survey sponsored by a bevy of corporations and conducted for the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which found 83 percent in favor of “creating a new public health insurance plan that anyone can purchase.” Just 14 percent opposed a public plan.

Quinnipiac also asked a simple question, unburdened by arguments on either side, which found supporters of a public plan outnumbering opponents by a 43-point margin.

In fact, only one poll asking a straight favor/oppose question has recorded majority opposition — but generating that opposition required Rasmussen to misstate the facts. They asked about creating “a government health insurance company to compete with private insurance companies.” The only surprise is that just 50 percent thought a government-run health corporation was a bad idea. Of course, no legislation under consideration in the House or the Senate even contemplates creation of a “government health insurance company.” So if some day someone were to actually propose such an animal, Rasmussen can responsibly say the public is opposed — until then their poll is meaningless.

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[fascisthunter]

1. republican polling

[ProSense]

2. Yes, but it's always good

to shred the 1/4 ounce of perceived credibility they may have even further.

[fascisthunter]

3. oh I know

[karynnj]

14. Republican ANALYSIS of the polling as well

There really is little difference in the results of Rassmussen and the NYT/CBS poll on issues both looked at.

In the NYT poll, where all the questions and crosstabs are on the web, a large percent of people said their personal insurance was good - and there was some real indication that there was concern on Republican issues, such as it raising their taxes. BUT on the overriding main question, 72% favored a system that would include a public option. In addition, a majority answered that it was wrong that some people had no insurance.

To me this is a really wonderful result. Many people - likely counterrparts of many of us here - are answering that their personal situation is good, but they want change maybe because they buy the argument of Democrats that healthcare is a moral right for everyone.

[high density]

4. Will they think it's "good" after the cost has gone up another 100% in the next decade?

To be honest, I don't see how the "quality of care" can possibly decline any further. I just want the price to stop increasing at 2-3 times inflation.

[Still Sensible]

5. Rasmussen is right wing polling central, but

the point is not without any merit. Some percentage of people obviously do believe their coverage is good. I would contend that our side has not done a good job pointing out to people what is "bad" about their own coverage. In my case, just for example, many people would consider it good--it's not, it has high deductible, the paycheck contribution is ever rising, and doctors have to get anything beyond routine check ups approved by the insurance company! But those things are somewhat invisible. I would bet you that a high percentage of people that would answer that question "good" don't have insurance any better than mine, but they are blind to the realities of their situation.

[ProSense]

6. "Some percentage of people obviously do believe their coverage is good. "

49 percent said they supported fundamental changes and another 33 percent said the health care system needed to be completely rebuilt.

Pretty certain the Dems don't have to convince Americans that the system sucks. In fact, the problem seems to be that Americans want more than they believe is being proposed.

[karynnj]

15. I think this shows that the Democrats HAVE convinced

many people that the system is not adeguate. Some possibly out of concern for others and some because of concern about the future.

I went to an Obama rally for Corzine in Holmdel, NJ. One of the biggest cheers was after he spoke to "people who do have insurance" about knowing they can buy an affordable group plan if they lost their job. I suspect that just as the Great Depression set the stage for social security and unemployeement insurance because more people saw that it was they who just might need it, the financial meltdown has made people see that very little stands between the comfortable state they are in and being one of the people without health insurance.

[bklyncowgirl]

7. Everyone things they have good health insurance until they actually have to use it for something.

The bills resulting from a trip to the emergency room convinced me that my insurance sucks. A year later and it's still not settled and somewhere out there is a doctor who could still go after me if he's not satisfied with what the insurance company gave him.

[SKKY]

8. Good. Then they can keep their coverage...

...but for those who don't have any, or can't afford what they have, I think having another option would be good.

[bigdarryl]

9. everybody thinks they have good healthcare UNTIL THEY GET SICK

and they find out there health care doesn't cover certain procedures.

[pdxmom]

10. If I was asked the simple question of how do I rate my health insurance,

I'd have to honestly say I'd rate it good. But there are a lot of caveats to that which the polling doesn't ask. My insurance does what I need it to do...we have specific health care needs and we chose a policy that would meet those needs (it pays 100% for prosthetics). But I'm aware of a lot of things...that my deductible and employee contribution costs have risen dramatically over the past 5 years, for example. I also am aware that if anything happens, like job loss, or if my husband wants to retire before Medicare kicks in, then we're screwed. We can't get coverage elsewhere because of pre-existing conditions and the cost of continuing our coverage with the company we have would be over $3,000 A MONTH. We can't afford that.

People refuse to see anything past the nose on their face. Anything outside their current status quo is ignored. They are whistling past the graveyard. I'm scared to death about the health care situation, because even though right this minute I'm in a great position, it wouldn't take much at all for that to all come crashing down.

[Vinca]

11. I thought I had good health insurance, too . . . then I used it.

They couldn't get rid of me fast enough. The problem with this issue is that people who haven't gotten sick - the majority - think everything is hunky dory. It's only when you start taking out rather than paying in you realize your wonderful insurance policy is only a small profit-making cog in the large corporate wheel.

[karynnj]

16. It also does work very well in many cases on standard expenses

I never had any problems with claims for 3 pregnancies (1985 - 1990), nor with the standard well visits and "sick" visits.

In addition, there are plans that really do cover a large portion of costs. On long term medical issues, that require multiple specialists for mfamily members, the actual approved treatment has been nearly 100% of what the doctors asked for to begin with. There were many times that claims went back and forth forever, but with persistance on our part, they all were reasonably resolved.

[Thrill]

12. This is guy is getting paid big bucks from the Republicans and the Insurance Industry

His polls are full of shit

[Nyquil Man]

13. Check this out:

http://www.pollster.com/polls/us/jobapproval-obama.php

That steady line of outliers, showing Obama's disapproval rating as higher? Almost all Rasmussen.

Rasmussen's trick is to release reasonably accurate polls right before Election Day. That buttresses his reputation as a good pollster. Then he goes back to shilling.

[Orsino]

17. There's a grain of truth there.

My coverage is relatively excellent, a PPO that pays 100% on most things, and allows me to cover my wife, whose company insurance is stuck at 80%. Folks like me won't have the sense of urgency about reform that the tens of millions of uninsured do.

That great divide, the existence of two (or more) Americas, means that Rasmussen and the rest of the MSM find it easy to keep us at each other's throats, with each class convinced (if they're even noticing) that one or more other classes is out to take something from them. We bicker among ourselves, blind to the Big Rip-Off being perpetrated by the ultra-wealthy.