More Americans Scared of Health Insurance Changes
Posted: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
by Yamileth Medina
VitalOne Health
As debate has dragged on, the American public has become increasingly wary and concerned about comprehensive healthcare reform proposals. Recent Democratic losses have clearly been influenced by their unease. During a recession, individuals and families tend to cling to the seemingly stable aspects of their lives. The status quo of health insurance is one of those things. The specter of unemployment has not made Americans more supportive of reform.The "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" mentality is prevalent within the poll's findings. About a third of the 500 people surveyed said that they expected healthcare reform to have a negative impact on the access to and quality of medical insurance. Meanwhile, 42% believed it would hurt the nation's financial state--an important concern, given that the Congressional Budget Office has just estimated the current deficit to be over $1 trillion. Medicare insurance and Medicaid are also significant factors in the soaring deficit.
These percentages have increased over the past several months, whereas positive opinions about the overhaul have soured. The most recent poll was taken just before the Senate finalized its healthcare reform bill. News reports detailed weeks of political wrangling and controversial closed-door committee hearings, not to mention obvious pork-barrel giveaways to secure some votes.
A decreasing percentage believe that healthcare reform is an integral part of a total economic strategy, but 49.5% still think that the Obama administration should maintain focus on the issue. Still, it is unlikely that they will tolerate Democratic legislators moving forward without a change in tactics. They have not convinced a solid plurality of Americans that their plan is the best way to expand low cost medical insurance coverage.
(Image: a.drian under CC 2.0)
Yamileth Medina is an up and coming expert on Health Insurance and Healthcare Reform. She aims to help people realize that they can find quality medical insurance right now. Yamileth lives in Miami, FL.
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