A new Rasmussen poll shows that Americans are realistic about national health insurance; surprisingly so, given the impression promoted by the media. (Via Instapundit.)
- 39% oppose it, while 29% support it. 31% are not sure.
- 46% say the quality of health care would decrease, while only 16% say it would improve. 20% say it would stay about the same.
- 42% say the cost of health care would increase, while 25% say it would decrease.
So a strong plurality believes that national health insurance would make care more expensive but worse. The partisan breakdown is more bad news for supporters:
- Democrats support it by only a 35% to 26% margin.
- Independents support it at the same rate as Republicans (just 25%), but are slightly more likely to be unsure (39%) than oppose it (35%).
An older poll says that while only 31% rate American health care as good or excellent, most (72%) of those with insurance are happy with their own coverage. (83% of those surveyed had insurance.)
Another older poll said that half of Americans support providing coverage to everyone, but that number drops to 31% if people would be required to give up their insurance for a government plan.
This is a body blow to nationalized health insurance. It also perhaps gives some explanation for Hillary Clinton’s difficulties. Her top issue turns out to be a loser.
It strikes me that for the nationalizers to have any shot, they need to convince people that they can keep their own insurance. It wouldn’t be true (how many employers would keep offering insurance when they could leave it to the government?), but with the media’s help, maybe they could pull it off. However, this poll shows that the media’s support has not been especially influential.
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