BROOKVILLE, N.Y. -- As the United States Senate prepares to vote to begin debate on health care legislation today, Long Island University's Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling and Analysis released a new poll that measured American attitudes towards health care in America. The data indicates that Americans agree that the government has a role in our health care system, and are cost-averse when it comes to the fundamentals.

56 percent of respondents said the U.S. federal government has the responsibility to make sure that all Americans have health insurance, while 41 percent said that it is not the responsibility of the U.S. federal government. The research indicates general agreement in favor of some kind of government involvement.

When asked about the recent Republican health care legislation, the poll showed there was 33 percent approval for the legislation, while 61 percent of respondents disapproved. When broken down by age, disapproval was consistent across age ranges with 30-44 year olds showing the highest disapproval at 68 percent, while 18-29 year olds had the highest approval at 38 percent.

"The data shows that when it comes to health care reform, the majority of Americans believe that government should ensure coverage, while being cost-conscious with regard to taxpayers and enrollees," said Dr. Edward Summers, Fellow at the Hornstein Center.

When asked what was most important, 30 percent responded in favor of reducing the cost of health care to taxpayers, 30 percent chose reducing the cost of insurance premiums, and 25 percent believed reducing the number of uninsured Americans was most important.  12 percent thought improving health care, regardless of cost, was most important.

When questioned about an ideal health care system in the United States, 41 percent of respondents preferred a hybrid health care system with both government programs and private insurance companies, while 35 percent of respondents preferred a national health insurance run solely by the government. Only 20 percent in were favor of a health care system run exclusively by private insurance companies.

The findings are based on a published public opinion poll conducted from July 14 through July 25, 2017.

"We are encouraged from the results that our web-based, text-message survey is providing a better understanding of the American health care landscape," said Dr. Summers.  "The Steven S. Hornstein Center has a robust research portfolio, and we are excited to explore these crucial public policy issues."

Dr. Summers, who obtained his Ph.D. in Public Policy, is a Fellow at the Hornstein Center. His career includes experience in public policy, higher education, and opinion research.

Long Island University
Steven S. Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling, and Analysis
Health Care in America
7/25/17

Polling Methodology
This Long Island University Steven S. Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling & Analysis opinion survey was conducted from July 14 to July 24, 2017 entirely by SMS text-messages in English to 1017 registered voters aged 18-80. Polling data was sorted by age, political affiliation, gender and geographic location in efforts to ensure a nationwide representative sample. This poll has an overall margin of error of +/- 3.06 points. The Steven S. Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling and Analysis is an independent and non-partisan institute directed by Dr. Stanley B. Klein which endeavors to conduct research on a variety of issues affecting the American electorate. Dr. Klein has taught political science for over 50 years at LIU Post, bringing extensive experience in politics, government, and academia to the work done at the Steven S. Hornstein Center." 

SOURCE Long Island University

Renew your subscription to Hispanic Outlook here