Survey Shows Support for Some Kind of Health Care Overhaul
Economist/YouGov survey finds Americans want changes to the system
As the Senate intends next week to consider yet another iteration of a bill to replace the 2010 health care law, the latest Economist/YouGov poll shows about one-third of those surveyed believe legislation should expand and fundamentally change the law.
Forty percent of respondents said they would support a single-payer system in which insurance comes from one government source financed by taxes, while 29 percent were opposed to that idea.
About one-third of the respondents also indicated they’d like to see health care be “completely rebuilt.”
A whopping 64 percent said they want to see repeal of the law only when Congress has come up with a replacement plan. Fifteen percent indicated they wanted to see full repeal without a replacement.
On whom they would trust on health care overhaul, respondents were mostly even among Democrats in Congress, Republicans in Congress and not choosing either. Most of those surveyed, 39 percent, said they agreed with Democrats.
That same percentage said they would strongly approve of President Donald Trump working with congressional Democrats to come up with a deal on health care reform.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday the Kentucky Republican intends to bring the latest version of a repeal and replace law to the chamber floor next week.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, would provide block grant funding to states and repeal parts of the 2010 health care law. It would leave in place most of the taxes that were created with it.
The plan was fully embraced by Trump as the measure faces a Sept. 30 deadline. The president has previously said he would sign whatever version of a repeal and replace law lands on his desk.
The survey of 1,500 Americans was conducted from Sept. 17 to 19 and released Wednesday.