In Poll, Massachusetts Voters Critical Of Health Reform
Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical InsuranceArticle Date: 01 Jul 2009 - 3:00 PDT
email to a friend 
printer friendly 
opinions
"Only 26 percent of likely voters in Massachusetts believe health care reform has been a success and just 21 percent believe reform has made health care more affordable, according to newly released poll results," The State House News Service/Boston Herald reports. "The Rasmussen Reports poll of 500 likely Massachusetts voters, taken in April, also found only 10 percent said the quality of health care is getting better under the reform law rules here." "The poll was taken before talks stirred in Washington about a national health care reform push and before a wave of news in Massachusetts about difficulty affording the coverage expansions authorized under the 2006 reform law" (6/29).
This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.
© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Visit our health insurance / medical insurance section for the latest news on this subject.
MLA
11 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/155977.php>
APA
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/155977.php.
Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.
|
Rate this article: (Hover over the stars then click to rate) |
Patient / Public: |
or |
Health Professional: |
Visitor Opinions In Chronological Order (1)
Fox TV Poll Was Biased
posted by Brian Rosman on 1 Jul 2009 at 6:32 pmThe poll was taken for the Boston Fox TV station, and the pollster is well-known for skewing results to the right:
“Rasmussen is influential because its carefully crafted questions that produce answers that conservatives like. .. The result is that polls with extremely favorable numbers for Republican stances leap into the public arena every week, quickly becoming accepted wisdom.” - David Wegel
Other polls found that health reform has broad support in Massachusetts. The Rasmussen question was worded in terms of “success” or “failure,” with no context or explanation.
The Urban Institute survey asked a much better-worded question in summer 2008:
“Now I have some general questions about health insurance in Massachusetts. As you may know, Massachusetts has a law that is aimed at providing health insurance for all Massachusetts residents. In general, do you support or oppose this Massachusetts law?”
The results were: Support: 74%; Oppose: 14% (Don’t know: 12%)
The Urban Institute poll used a sample that included cell phone-only households, unlike Rassmussen. The Urban sample exceeded 4,900 households, compared to the Rassmussen sample of 500. The sample was also weighted using a validated algorithm to correct for sample bias.
Similarly, the Harvard School of Public Health polled 963 residents last summer, and found 69% support and 22% opposition among people familiar with the law.
There’s no question in our minds that the Rasmussen poll was done to influence the debate in Washington, and to provide speech fodder for those opposed to national reform.
Health reform has been enormously successful in its stated goal - expanding access to the uninsured. The remaining challenges of cost and quality are being addressed, but more remains to be done.
Health Care For All Massachusetts
Add Your Opinion
Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.
If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.
All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)
Contact Our News Editors
For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.
Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:
Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.
Privacy Policy |
Terms and Conditions
MediLexicon International Ltd
Bexhill-on-Sea, United Kingdom
MediLexicon International Ltd © 2004-2012 All rights reserved.
