One of the drumbeats by the right is that reforming health care goes against the will of the American people. Besides the fact that a Democratic president and an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress were elected to make this kind of reform, many polls show that Americans do want specific changes. Yes, it’s true that a new NBC/WSJ poll indicates a turning away from reform, with just 32% saying it’s a good idea, but a series of other polls show otherwise, when Americans are asked about specific changes that could be enacted.
CBS News/New York Times poll: 59 percent favor “the government offering some people who are uninsured the choice of a government administered health insurance plan.”
CNN/Opinion Research poll: 53 percent support “creating a public health insurance option.”
Quinnipiac University poll: 56 percent support “giving people the option of being covered by a government health insurance plan.”
Wash. Post/ABC poll: 63 percent support “expand[ing] Medicare to cover people between the ages of 55 and 64 who do not have health insurance.”
Kaiser Family Foundation: Polling shows “consistent support for expanding Medicare.”
It all depends how the question is phrased. The general: “Do you support the way (name your poison: Obama, Senate, House) is conducting health care reform,” the answer is almost always negative. However, when it comes down to specific reforms, poll and after poll shows that is what Americans want.
