Public Not Ready to Rush Into Health Care Reform

So far, despite weeks of heavy media attention - if not advocacy - public opinion remains divided on the urgency of health care reform. Rasmussen Reports found nearly an even split on the issue.

Forty-four percent (44%) of Americans say the Obama administration should wait on health care reform until the economy improves.

But 43% say health care reform should move ahead now, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of 10,000 adults nationwide.

On one of the more controversial provisions being discussed - the so-called public option - a CBS News/New York Times poll found surprisingly strong support for government intervention.

A clear majority of Americans -- 72 percent -- support a government-sponsored health care plan to compete with private insurers, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds. Most also think the government would do a better job than private industry at keeping down costs and believe that the government should guarantee health care for all Americans.

The new poll shows the idea of a government-sponsored plan, or "public option," to be fair (sic) non-controversial, though Democrats in the Senate have considered nixing the proposal in order to win Republican support for the bill. House leaders on Friday unveiled a health care reform plan that includes a public option.

I'm not the only one who found that surprising, downright astonishing in fact. The good news is that the finding is most likely wrong. Power Line breaks it down. After examining what turns out to be a heavily skewed sample, John Hinderaker makes an extremely important point:

Actually, what I think is most striking about the Times' poll is the lack of any real enthusiasm for socialized medicine. A large majority of respondents in that survey think that major changes need to be made in our health care system. Yet 77 percent are either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their own health care, and 63 percent are "very" or "somewhat" concerned that government medicine will make their own health care worse.

This is the same kind of thing we've seen in other polls. Most Americans and most Washingtonians are reasonably satisfied with their care and coverage, but have been persuaded that there's a major underlying problem in the system that's affecting their neighbors. That creates a wellspring of support for changes that reduce the number of uninsured and provide greater access to quality care for everyone. But it does not translate into the kind of government takeover currently being proposed.