Why Democracy Functions Less Effectively With Ignorance…
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AP Poll: Gov’t health plan divides public
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer Erica Werner, Associated Press Writer
Wed Nov 18, 6:12 am ET
WASHINGTON – Tell Americans that letting the government sell insurance in competition with private industry would be cheaper for them, and a majority is in favor.
Tell them the government would be making decisions about what medical care they could get, and support sinks.
The findings from an Associated Press poll come as lawmakers struggle to advance President Barack Obama’s signature health care overhaul, with the final shape of any government insurance plan very much in doubt. The issue has been the biggest flash point in the health care debate, and the poll results underscore that how it is defined can make a big difference in the public’s response.
Politicians know that. It’s why when Republicans talk about letting the government sell health coverage in competition with private carriers, they cast it as a government takeover that would destroy private industry. Democrats talk about choice, competition and “keeping health insurance companies honest.”
The AP poll, conducted by Stanford University with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, suggests that when such messages are heard, they have an effect.
Half of the 1,500 participants in the AP poll were told that a government insurance plan “would be less expensive than other insurance plans, because the government would not need to make a profit the way businesses do and because the government is able to negotiate lower prices with doctors and hospitals than insurance companies can.”
Fifty-two percent said they favored such a plan, while 35 percent were opposed and 12 percent neither favored nor opposed it.
“I fundamentally feel that the private insurance industry basically holds all the market power” and could use some competition from a nonprofit alternative, said Robert Baulch, 58, of North Chatham, Mass.
The goal is “covering a lot of folks that just can’t get coverage and reducing the cost overall,” he said.
The other half of the people polled were told the government plan would be less expensive, but they were also told that “the government would run the insurance plan and decide which medical care would be paid for and how much would be paid, like insurance companies do.”
That version of the question found 44 percent in support and 38 percent opposed, while 15 percent neither favored nor opposed the idea.
“They would decide which medical care would be paid for,” said Jeff Anderson, 43, of Burlingame, Calif. “If you have a tumor growing inside you that needs to be removed or you’re going to die, and they decide, well, we don’t cover cancer or we don’t cover other types of diseases — you know, that’s just wrong.”
So while both questions elicited more supporters than opponents for a public insurance plan — bearing out the results of past polling that has shown the public generally supportive — the plan commanded majority support only when cast in positive terms that emphasized benefits to consumers over government control.
The poll also sought to elicit views of the government insurance plan design under consideration by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., as he finalizes a health care bill to bring to the Senate floor.
Legislation passed by the House this month included a public plan available nationally for small businesses and, mostly, self-employed people. Under Reid’s version, individual states would be able to opt out of the public plan.
Poll participants were asked whether government insurance should be available to all, or whether state governments should be able to decide not to offer it. Seventy percent favored making it available nationally while 25 percent said state governments should be able to decide.
Overall, the poll found the public split on Congress’ drive to enact sweeping legislation extending coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans. Opinion was also evenly divided on Obama’s handling of the matter, and participants expressed concerns and confusion about costs and various other aspects of the issue.
Despite the controversy surrounding the public plan, it would affect a small number of people. A Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House bill estimated that about 6 million people would sign up for the public option in 2019, once it was fully phased in. That represents about 2 percent of Americans under age 65. (Older people are covered through Medicare.)
The overwhelming majority of the population would remain in private health insurance plans sponsored by employers. Others, mainly low-income people, would be covered through an expanded Medicaid program.
The budget office also said that “a less healthy pool of enrollees” would probably be attracted to the public option, drawn by the prospect of looser rules on access to specialists and medical services. As a result, premiums in the public plan would actually be higher than the average for private plans, according to the budget office.
In the AP-GfK poll, the differently worded questions on the public plan each had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. The poll interviewed 1,502 people from Oct. 29-Nov. 8 with an overall sampling error margin of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
The interviews were conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media. Stanford University’s participation in the project was made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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AP Polling Director Trevor Tompson and Associated Press writers Ann Sanner and Natasha Metzler contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc
Obama calls for ‘honest debate’ on health care
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is challenging his critics on a national health care overhaul, accusing them of making “phony claims” about the legislation.
“This is an issue of vital concern to every American, and I’m glad that so many are engaged,” Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address.
“But it also should be an honest debate, not one dominated by willful misrepresentations and outright distortions, spread by the very folks who would benefit the most by keeping things exactly as they are.”
Obama said illegal immigrants would not be part of the health care overhaul, taxpayers would not be mandated to fund abortions and he does not intend a government takeover of health care — all claims that critics have made at
contentious town hall-style meetings with members of Congress.
He also took a swipe at “death panels,” an idea former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin introduced on her Facebook page.
“As every credible person who has looked into it has said, there are no so-called death panels — an offensive notion to me and to the American people,” Obama said. “These are phony claims meant to divide us.”
Obama’s liberal base was angered this past week after he seemed to suggest he would be fine with a plan that lacked a government-run health insurance option.
“This is one idea among many to provide more competition and choice, especially in the many places around the country where just one insurer thoroughly dominates the marketplace,” Obama said. “Let me repeat: It would be just an option; those who prefer their private insurer would be under no obligation to shift to a public plan.”
In their weekly address, Republicans accused Obama of
misrepresenting his proposal.
“As opposition to the Democrats’ government-run health plan is mounting, the president has said he’d like to stamp out some of the disinformation floating around out there,” said Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. “The problem is the president, himself, plays fast and loose with the facts.”
Price said that the whole plan should be scrapped and lawmakers should start over with a plan that makes sure patients — not Washington or insurance providers — are the top priority.
“We all know that when the government is setting the rules and is backed by tax dollars, it will destroy, not compete with, the private sector,” said Price, a physician. “The reality is, whether or not you get to keep your plan, or your doctor, is very much in question under the president’s proposal.”
A Holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said,
‘Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.’
The Lord led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table..
In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew,
which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly.
They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long
handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to
reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms,
they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, ‘You have seen Hell. They went to the next room and
opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.
There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made
the holy man’s mouth water.
The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here
the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, ‘I don’t understand..
‘It is simple,’ said the Lord. ‘It requires but one skill.
You see, they have learned to feed each other.
The greedy think only of themselves.’
When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you.
Its estimated 93% won’t forward this.
If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title ’7%’ .
I’m in the 7%
Remember that
I will always share my spoon with you
