Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Healthcare Reform Poll: 81% believe new health care law will add to national debt

All than can be said is that the GOP's efforts to distort and misinform the public about the overhauls to the nation's health care system and Health Insurance Industry, have worked.  As reported by the Associated Press, in a poll commissioned by AP and conducted by Stanford University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

People were asked whether the Congressional Budget Office had ruled that the legislation would probably increase the government's debt, or whether the nonpartisan budget analysts found that the health law would reduce red ink. (Correct answer: CBO found it would reduce the federal deficit over time.)

But 81 percent in the survey got the wrong answer, including a majorities of both supporters and opponents - even though Obama seldom misses a chance to remind audiences of CBO's favorable report.
The long and short of it, most Americans don't understand what's in and what's out or if it's going to cost them more or less.  The health care reforms that were signed into law six months ago tomorrow, haven't even come close to being fully implemented.   So why are most Americans opposed to the new health care reforms?

As reported in Politico today,
“The expectation or hope that as the memory of the debate faded, public opinion would turn has simply not worked out,” said William Galston, a former Clinton adviser who is now at the Brookings Institution. “Even with the front-loaded benefits having just begun to kick in, they have not begun to register." 

One other reason why people are uneasy about the health care overhaul, in March the Congressional Budget Office revised their previous estimates of the reforms and the cost rose to over $1 Trillion over the next 10 years.  But, it still reduced the overall national debt by $100 Billion over that same period.  And the most contentious part of the reforms was the mandate to purchase health insurance by 2014. 

If the Republicans are able to gain the majority in the House of Representatives, there will be a big push to repeal or replace, or to defund major parts of the law.  If this happens, Health Care will cost more. 

Related links:  http://www.cbo.gov/publications/collections/health.cfm 

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