Main Street

Doing More vs. Doing Nothing

A lot of news stories make it out that a lot of people want to repeal the Affordable Care Act and get government out of health care. By contrast:

A new AP poll finds that Americans who think the law should have done more outnumber those who think the government should stay out of health care by 2-to-1.

Surprised?

The poll found that about four in 10 adults think the new law did not go far enough to change the health care system, regardless of whether they support the law, oppose it or remain neutral. On the other side, about one in five say they oppose the law because they think the federal government should not be involved in health care at all.

The AP poll was conducted by Stanford University with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Overall, 30 percent favored the legislation, while 40 percent opposed it, and another 30 percent remained neutral.
Those numbers are no endorsement for Obama’s plan, but the survey also found a deep-seated desire for change that could pose a problem for Republicans. Only 25 percent in the poll said minimal tinkering would suffice for the health care system.

Why haven’t we heard this before? I’d suggest two reasons, though I’m sure there are more. One is that we only hear it if pollsters ask about it, and relatively few polls have gone into detail like that, allowing people the opportunity to say that they wish health care reform had gone further. The second is the fear factor. People have had a number of months now for the all-out, facts-by-the-wayside Republican assault to fade from their minds. While most people probably never bought into nonsense about “death panels,” having more chance to think about their real health care needs and the way the system is or is not working for them, without that constant barrage of misinformation, should be providing a clearer picture by now.

Tags: Affordable Care Act, Health Care, health care reform