Senior Citizens By Far Most Negative on Health Care Reform
Do you think you and your family will be better or
worse off under the new health reform law, or don’t you
think it will make much
difference?
Health Reform News & Information
Senior Citizens Exposed as Biggest Opponents of
Health Care Reform by New Kaiser Poll
More Americans supporting the legislation; 2010
provisions very popular; widespread support for them across the
political spectrum
April
22, 2010 – The elephant in the room during the long debate over health
care reform came into clearer focus today with the release of the Kaiser
Health Tracking Poll showing a dramatic difference of opinion between
the elderly and those under age 65.. Almost half of senior citizens say
they expect to be worse off under the new law, compared to just 28
percent of those under 65. Seniors, too, are among those expressing the
most anger about passage of the legislation.
Although the public remains divided on the law,
there are significantly more (46%) viewing it favorably, just 40%
unfavorably and 14% undecided. (See pie chart below)
Similarly, 31 percent of Americans say they expect
personally to be better off because of the law, while 32 percent say
they will be worse off and 30 percent say they don’t expect to be
affected.
The
April poll also finds that the public supports many of the provisions of
health reform that are set to be implemented in the short term. When
asked about 11 specific provisions scheduled to take effect this year,
in each case a majority of Americans viewed them favorably, often with
bipartisan support.
The first Kaiser Health Tracking Poll fielded since
the passage of health reform last month finds that 8 in 10 Americans
know that President Obama signed the legislation into law.
But 55
percent say they are confused about the law and more than half (56%) say
they don’t yet have enough information to understand how it will affect
them personally.
“People are struggling to understand how the law
will affect them and their families and to separate fact from political
spin,” said Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman.
Many Provisions Taking Effect in 2010 Are
Popular With Bipartisan Support
The new law was constructed to include some
provisions that take effect in the first year so that the public would
feel tangible results in the short term. The poll tested the popularity
of many of these early measures and finds widespread support for them
across the political spectrum, including among Republicans and
independents
Nearly 9 in 10 Americans favor providing tax
credits to small businesses that want to provide coverage for their
workers, for instance. And roughly 8 in 10 have favorable views of
provisions that would offer access to basic preventive care with no
copayments, provide financial help to seniors who hit the gap in
Medicare drug coverage known as the “doughnut hole,” and end insurance
companies’ practice of dropping coverage if a person has a major health
problem.
In each of these cases, at least two-thirds of
Republicans and independents join most Democrats in viewing the
provisions favorably.
Americans Are More Confused Than Angry About Health Reform
Who is most likely to say
they are angry?
%
saying
they are
angry
All
Americans
30%
Those
who expect to be worse off under reform
70%
Those
who feel unfavorably toward new law
63%
Republicans
57%
Conservatives
51%
Seniors
45%
Main
source of info on law is cable TV
40%
Although anger grabs the headlines, the only
emotion shared by more than half of the public when it comes to the
health reform law is confusion. Overall, 55% say they are confused, an
emotion more deeply rooted among those who feel unfavorably toward
reform (61% of whom feel confused) than among those who favor it (44% of
whom feel confused).
Minorities of Americans report feeling other
emotions, including 45% each who say they are “pleased” or
“disappointed,” 42% who are “anxious,” and 40% who are “relieved.”
Anger is at the bottom of the list, a feeling reported by 30% of the
public, including 16% who say they are “very angry.” Asked what about
health reform made them angry, that 30% divided as follows: 9% did not
like the way the policymaking process worked, 7% did not like the final
content, and 12% did not approve of either.
Cable TV News is “Most Important” Source of
Information About Reform Law
Americans of all political leanings pointed to
cable television news more than any other source when they were asked to
choose their most important source of news and information about the
law. More than a third (36%) cited cable TV news stations and their
websites as their most important outlet, followed by network news (16%),
newspapers (12%), friends and family (10%) and the radio (9%).
There were some differences along party lines,
however. Republicans were more likely to name cable TV as their most
important news source, with 45% saying so compared to 30% of Democrats.
On the other hand, Democrats were twice as likely as Republicans and
independents to say that they got most of their information from network
news (23% of Democrats compared to 12% of the other two groups).
Overall sentiment about the new law still breaks
sharply along partisan lines. Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats (77%) favor the
new law, while about as many Republicans (79%) view it unfavorably, a
mix very similar to that seen before the bill’s passage in March.
Political independents tilt against the law (46% opposed compared to
37% in favor), while self-described moderates favor the measure 55% to
31%.
The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit private operating
foundation, based in Menlo Park, California, dedicated to producing and
communicating the best possible information and analysis on health
issues.
Methodology
This Kaiser Health Tracking Poll was designed and
analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The survey was conducted April 9 through April 14, 2010, among a
nationally representative random sample of 1,208 adults ages 18 and
older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (801) and cell phone
(407, including 171 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in
English and Spanish. The margin of sampling error for the total sample
is plus or minus 3 percentage points. For results based on subgroups,
the margin of sampling error may be higher. The full question wording,
results, charts and a brief on the poll can be viewed online at http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls.
April
22, 2010 – The elephant in the room during the long debate over health
care reform came into clearer focus today with the release of the Kaiser
Health Tracking Poll showing a dramatic difference of opinion between
the elderly and those under age 65.. Almost half of senior citizens say
they expect to be worse off under the new law, compared to just 28
percent of those under 65. Seniors, too, are among those expressing the
most anger about passage of the legislation.
The
April poll also finds that the public supports many of the provisions of
health reform that are set to be implemented in the short term. When
asked about 11 specific provisions scheduled to take effect this year,
in each case a majority of Americans viewed them favorably, often with
bipartisan support.
HealthReform.gov
lists 18 provisions being activated this year; one targets baby
boomers, two senior citizens
'...spouses of people receiving home care on Medicaid
will no longer have to be forced down into poverty before they get help'
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