POLL: ONLY 12% SUPPORT GOP HEALTH CARE PLAN
More than half say leave Obamacare intact or fix its problems
Just 12% of Americans support the Senate Republican health care plan, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds amid a roiling debate over whether the GOP will deliver on its signature promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
In the survey Saturday through Tuesday, a 53% majority says Congress should either leave the law known as Obamacare alone or work to fix its problems while keeping its framework intact.
Eight in 10 Republicans support repeal, and almost a third say the law should be repealed even if a replacement health care plan isn’t ready. Just 11%
of independents and 2% of Democrats say they feel that way.
The divide between the demands of the GOP base and the skepticism of the broader electorate helps explain why Senate Republican leaders delayed a vote as they scramble for the 50 votes needed to pass a measure.
Donald Jones, 61, a sheriff from West Frankfort, Ill., who was among those called in the survey, has seen both the benefits and costs of Obamacare.
“I had one relative who probably was uninsurable and was able to get insurance that they wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise,” he said in a follow-up interview. “I had another family member who was forced to get insurance that they really can’t afford to pay.”
He said he doesn’t think Congress should repeal the ACA, and he objected to the Senate rush to a vote.
In the survey, 45% oppose the Senate bill, and nearly as many, 40%, say they don’t know enough about it to have an opinion. The plan was drafted in closed sessions, and it hasn’t gone through the customary process of committee hearings.
Even among Republicans, only 26% support the Senate bill; 17% oppose it. Fifty-two percent say they need more information before they can express a view.
Robert Ridge, 76, a retiree from Hazel Green, Ala., has some qualms about the lack of a public debate on the Senate bill, but he endorses the GOP’s goal. “We need changes to Obamacare; it’s imploding,” he said. “If it solves the severe problems that Obamacare has, it would certainly be an improvement.”
Whatever the political disagreements, there is an overwhelming national consensus on what provisions any health care plan should include:
Pre- existing conditions: More than three-fourths, 77%, say it is “very important” that the health care system permit people with pre-existing medical conditions to buy health insurance at the same price as others. Just 6% say that protection isn’t important to them. The Senate bill would require insurers to accept those with pre-existing conditions, but it would allow states to seek permission to reduce required benefits. Some patients could face dramatically higher costs or lifetime limits for treatments no longer defined as essential.
Medicaid expansion: Nearly two-thirds, 63%, say it is “very important” that lowerincome people who became eligible for Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act continue to be covered by Medicaid. Just 10% say that isn’t important to them. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Senate plan, which would cut Medicaid spending by $772 billion over the next 10 years, would result in 15 million fewer people being covered.
Lower premiums: Almost six in 10, 57%, say it is “very important” that insurance premiums go down in price; 17% say that’s not important. The CBO predicts that premiums would rise for a few years under the Senate plan, then fall by about 30%. Overall health care costs would go up for most people because deductibles would be higher and some states wouldn’t require insurers to provide some benefits that are now mandated.
Americans spread the blame for the problems Washington has in enacting legislation on health care, taxes and infrastructure. Asked who is most responsible for gridlock, 26% identify congressional Democrats and 24% Republicans.