"Mapping Uninsured Americans," Interactive US map of uninsured, Dec. 17, 2013 Census data, via NY Times
"In one of the poll’s more striking findings, 44 percent of the uninsured said the new law would have no effect on the quality of the health care they receive. Thirty percent went so far as to say it would result in them getting worse quality of care, while less than a quarter predicted their care would improve." (p. 2)..."Seventy-seven percent of the uninsured said they disapproved of the mandate." (p. 1)...Poll dates, Dec. 5-8 and Dec. 4-15.
12/18/13, "Uninsured Skeptical of Health Care Law in Poll," NY Times, Abby Goodnough, Allison Kopicki
"Americans who lack medical coverage disapprove of President Obama’s health care law at roughly the same rate as the insured, even though most say they struggle to pay for basic care, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
Fifty-three percent of the uninsured disapprove of the law, the poll
found, compared with 51 percent of those who have health coverage. A
third of the uninsured say the law will help them personally, but about
the same number think it will hurt them, with cost a leading concern.
The widespread skepticism, even among people who are supposed to benefit
from the law, underscores the political challenge facing the Obama
administration as it tries to persuade millions of Americans to enroll
in coverage through new online marketplaces, a crucial element of making
the new law financially viable for insurers.
There are several reasons the uninsured appear to be as wary of the law
as the insured, including opposition to the requirement that most people
have insurance. Still, nearly six in 10 uninsured said having insurance
would make their own health better. And 56 percent said they were more
likely than not to get insurance by March 31, the deadline to enroll in
coverage or face a tax penalty under the law. Thirty-five percent said
they were more likely to pay the penalty.
Over all, support for the 2010 health care law has improved since
November, when it dropped to an all-time low of 31 percent in a CBS News
poll after the flawed rollout of the federal online insurance exchange.
The new poll showed approval of the law at 39 percent and disapproval
at 50 percent among the general public.
But with the law’s central provisions set to take effect in less than
two weeks, uninsured Americans — precisely those it was meant to help —
remain confused about it and fearful that it will increase their health
care costs. And nearly six in 10 said they had not researched insurance
on the online marketplace, even though, based on the demographics of the
sample, many probably qualify for free or subsidized coverage.
“I don’t understand it at all,” said Derrick Stapleton, 47, an
independent from Peru, Ind., speaking in a follow-up interview. Mr.
Stapleton, who is uninsured and out of work, said he planned to sign up
for coverage before the March 31 deadline. But he added, “It sounds,
from what I understand, that it might not be as affordable as they once
thought.”
Even as the insured and uninsured expressed similar misgivings about the
law, the uninsured reported starkly different experiences with the
health care system. Their responses suggested they were far more likely
than the insured to have trouble paying for medical care, to rely more
on emergency rooms and community clinics, and to forgo treatment.
Of the uninsured who said they were not likely to sign up by the
deadline, fully half said it was because of the high cost. Twenty-nine
percent said they planned to go without coverage because they object to
the government’s requiring it, and 11 percent said they did not need
health insurance.
The poll was conducted among 1,000 adults nationwide by telephone from
Dec. 5 to Dec. 8 and among 702 uninsured adults from Dec. 4 to Dec. 15.
The uninsured respondents were generally younger, poorer and less
educated than the respondents in the general population. Three-quarters
of the uninsured were between 18 and 44, and about one in eight had
college degrees. Slightly more than half said they earned less than
$30,000 a year.
The requirement to get coverage or pay a penalty remains unpopular among
the general public, the poll found, with uninsured Americans voicing
disapproval at a higher rate than the insured population. Seventy-seven
percent of the uninsured said they disapproved of the mandate, compared
with 65 percent of those who already have health insurance.
David Bishop, 46, a Republican from Groton, N.Y., said the mandate was
“just taking away your constitutional freedom of choice.” Mr. Bishop,
who is caring for his four children while his wife works, said he had
looked at New York’s online insurance marketplace but found it difficult
to use and did not get the information he needed. He did say, however,
that he planned to get insurance through the marketplace, or exchange,
before the March deadline.
In the poll, 28 percent of uninsured respondents who said that they
planned to sign up for coverage cited the mandate as the main reason.
Thirty-eight percent said that they would enroll because having health
insurance is good, while 10 percent said that they expected insurance to
become more affordable under the law.
“Obamacare made it easier for me to get insurance,” said Rhonda Trask,
60, a Democrat in Welches, Ore., who said she had qualified for Medicaid
under the law after going without health insurance for five years. “I
haven’t made an appointment yet, but will the week after Christmas
because my plan takes effect on Jan. 1. I will be able to see a doctor
and get medication.”
In a reflection of how many Americans seem to grapple with conflicting
sentiments about the health care law, most respondents — both insured
and uninsured — said that it hurts the country when individuals do not
have health insurance, even as most voiced opposition to the mandate. In
addition, 64 percent of the uninsured and 54 percent of the general
public said they thought providing access to affordable health care
coverage for all Americans was the responsibility of the federal
government.
At the same time, only 37 percent of the general public and 33 percent
of the uninsured said the law was so flawed that it should be repealed.
That marks a slight shift since the CBS News poll in November, when the
federal insurance marketplace was still plagued with technical problems
and 43 percent of Americans said the law should be repealed.
The new poll found that most Americans — 55 percent of the general
public and 57 percent of the uninsured — disapprove of how President
Obama is handling health care. Democrats in Congress got roughly the
same rating, with 59 percent of the general public and 58 percent of the
uninsured disapproving of their handling of the issue.
Republicans in Congress were judged more harshly, with 73 percent of the
general public and 70 percent of the uninsured disapproving of their
handling of health care.
The incomes of the uninsured who participated in the poll suggest that
many would qualify for Medicaid, which is free, or federal subsidies to
help with the cost of private plans. But a widespread lack of
understanding about the law — and difficulties using the online
exchanges — appear to be keeping many uninsured Americans from even
finding out if they qualify for free or subsidized coverage.
Forty-two percent of the uninsured said they had looked into applying
for health insurance through the new online marketplaces, compared with
58 percent who said they had not. Only 10 percent of the uninsured said
they had actually applied for insurance through one of the marketplaces,
including 3 percent who said they had gotten confirmation of coverage.
The poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three
percentage points among the general population and among the sample of
895 insured adults; among the uninsured sample, the margin of sampling
error was plus or minus five percentage points.
In one of the poll’s more striking findings, 44 percent of the uninsured
said the new law would have no effect on the quality of the health care
they receive. Thirty percent went so far as to say it would result in
them getting worse quality of care, while less than a quarter predicted
their care would improve.
Robyn Logan, 55, of Bowie, Md., is an uninsured Democrat who said poor
past experiences
with the health care system made her skeptical of the
law’s potential. “I need to see a doctor and my fear is that even if I
get insurance, I won’t be able to find one,” she said. “I was on
Medicaid at one point and couldn’t find a doctor because no one would
take me.”
Pamela Vinson, 54, an uninsured Republican in Beavercreek, Ohio, said
that she, too, worried that there would not be enough health care
providers available to treat the newly insured.
“Quality will go down,” Ms. Vinson said, “especially if you’re not
healthy and a doctor has to diagnose you in 15 minutes. Doctors won’t
have enough time to deal with all the new patients.”"
====================
10 among comments:
================
"Joseph, NY, NY, Dec. 18, 11:20pm
The results of this poll just prove that Fox News has done a better job of battering the ACA than the Obama administration have in explaining and promoting it....
The Founding Fathers were smart but no match for Hannity or Limbaugh."
====================
"bradshj, Dec. 18, 11:26pm
"ACA covers just the insurance or consumption side, everything going on
in the healthcare delivery side is for another conversation."
-------------------------
"Reality, WA, Dec. 18, 11:20pm
For
the 1,000,000th time. Nobody needs health insurance:everybody needs
health care. This right wing legislation giving insurance companies
total control over American health care, is an abomination.
================
"Marianne, Staten Island, Dec. 18, 8:48pm
Major
hospitals like NYU Langone or Sloan Kettering has only a couple of
insurers on the lists and have not settled with any one on the exchange
list.
Nearly 7 thousand cancer patients are in the limbo - risk paying hundreds of thousand dollars or forgo treatments - because no major hospitals settled with insurance companies on the exchange, except for one or two.
This is 2 days before the deadline to sign up for health insurance; many former cancer patients' health insurance was discontinued.
Such an outrageous mess!"
Dec. 18, 2013 at 8:48 p.mNearly 7 thousand cancer patients are in the limbo - risk paying hundreds of thousand dollars or forgo treatments - because no major hospitals settled with insurance companies on the exchange, except for one or two.
This is 2 days before the deadline to sign up for health insurance; many former cancer patients' health insurance was discontinued.
Such an outrageous mess!"
===========================
"Kirk Hartley, Chicago, Dec. 18, 8:48pm
These polls simply prove the power of mindless Tea Party soundbites to trick people into thinking and voting against their interest."...
-------------------------
"Pax, DC, Dec. 18, 8:48pm
As others have written the ACA was a tremendous windfall for the health insurance industry, an industry of middlemen, mired in bureaucracy, whose interest is your money, not your health.
A single-payer system like medicaid would have cleared out the grifters and saved all Americans a lot of money.
My experience with healthcare.gov is that the website is functional and can lead you to a health insurance company in your area but that the customer support is very poor. In the last analysis the plans are not much better than those of a third world country's healthcare system.
American exceptionalism? I don't think so."
- Dec. 18, 2013 at 8:48 p.m.
- Recommended25
"Citizen2013, DC, Dec. 18, 9:59pm
The administration stated that if you have an employer-based plan, you will be able to keep your plan. What the administration did not explain is that if you have what the government considers to be a "cadillac plan", then this plan will be taxed at 40 % starting in 2018, well after Obama is out of office. So this again, is a top down approach from the Obama administration deciding what plans are "cadillac" plans and penalizing accordingly and deciding which plans are not good enough, which results in cancellation. Has Obama ever considered that there are some people who really need these "cadillac" plans due to their unique health conditions?"...
===========================
"DWOtruth, Ct., Dec. 18, 9:59pm
The
sad reality is that a large percentage of the uninsured are people who
think the government is out to get them. They listen to conservative TV
and radio and subscribe to their rhetoric. I guess they get what they
deserve despite the fact that they are hurting themselves."
====================
"Thomas Payne, Cornelius, NC, Dec. 18, 9:59pm
The republicans have exceeded all expectations of obstruction and outright lying to try and insure that this program will fail."...
===============
"Tyler McArthur, South Jordan, UT, Dec. 18, 11:20pm
"I guess they get what they deserve despite the fact that they are hurting themselves."
"Voting against their best interest."
"This seems to reflect a disturbing tendency on the part of many people to act against their own and their families' long-term best interests."
This is what is maddening about Liberal America - its inability to understand that political opinions exist other than their own. Is my opposition to the ACA irrational? No. For a 25 year old, it's actually very informed. Am I going to sign up for the ACA? Certainly not, because I am not willing to put my health in the hands of a government that can't create a functioning website. Are there men and women with advanced degrees that oppose the ACA? I know several. Please check the intellectual superiority complex at the door."
==============================
Comment: I was looking for and didn't find mention that government doesn't own US physicians and dentists and is therefore in no position to hand out their services. One comment did acknowledge that ObamaCare is only insurance, that the 'delivery' is another conversation. Government first needs to establish that they own doctors and dentists by paying for their education, the years of study and sacrifice, and guarantee a lifetime income of a certain amount. After offering a career in those terms, the government has to wait and see who in this country signs up for it, with what ability, and in what numbers. As far as blaming the GOP, the GOP establishment and its 'leadership' have always loved ObamaCare as much as democrats. Some commenters blamed the Tea Party although the TP has no media outlet. Blaming 'talk radio' for young people not signing up doesn't make sense since not many young people listen to talk radio. Some blamed Fox News but Dr. Codevilla confirms Fox News is strongly in favor of ObamaCare. Dr. Codevilla also notes the GOP House could've defunded O'Care anytime after Jan. 2011 and has chosen not to do so:
9/17/13, "The Obama-Boehner Project," Angelo M. Codevilla, libertylawsite.org
"The Republican Party owes its majority in the House of Representatives – and John Boehner his speakership thereof – to the American people’s dislike of Obamacare. Because the US Constitution is explicit that the US government may expend only funds appropriated by Congress, Obamacare has existed strictly at the sufferance of the House leadership since that majority took office in January 2011. But John Boehner and his chosen band have thwarted the majority of Republican congressmen’s desire to use the constitutional power they have to refuse to appropriate money for Obamacare. In this, Boehner &co. have worked in bipartisan coordination with the ruling class, including the media, including Fox News.
By September 2013, spurred by the Party’s constituent groups, Republican congressmen and senators had vowed to exclude Obamacare from the omnibus spending bill that funds government operations. (the existence of such bills, which neuter Congress’ constitutional authority over spending, will be the subject of another column). Boehner and his band responded with a proposal to vote on the omnibus spending bill, twice: once without Obamacare, so as to allow Congressmen to feign evidence of faithfulness to the principles for which they were elected, and another with Obamacare. The latter would pass with the votes of all Democrats and just enough of the Republican leadership to put it over the top. It would become law, and satisfy the ruling class’ constituent groups: the insurance companies, the hospital lobby, as well as left wing ideologues....
Support for Obamacare was dwindling daily to the ruling class’ inner core as the membership of organizations whose leaders had supported its passage now demanded that these leaders lobby for exemptions from it. The labor movement, one of the ruling class’ key constituencies, was turning against it as vehemently as the Republican rank-and-file. Hence Boehner’s continued fidelity to Obamacare was especially boneheaded.
The ruling class’ foolishness and insincerity, its willingness to insult the American people’s intelligence, are no joke. But we can take comfort in its transparent ineptitude."
.
No comments:
Post a Comment