New NPR/Kaiser/Harvard School Of Public Health Poll Examines Views Of SCHIP

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 18 Oct 2007 - 10:00 PDT

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NPR on Wednesday examined the results of a new NPR/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health poll that looks at the public's views and opinions of SCHIP and the pending legislation surrounding its reauthorization. The poll surveyed 1,527 randomly selected U.S. adults via telephone from Oct. 8 through Oct. 13 (NPR.org, 10/17).

President Bush earlier this month vetoed legislation that would have provided an additional $35 billion in funding for the program over the next five years and increased total SCHIP spending to $60 billion. The additional funding would have been paid for by a 61-cent-per-pack increase in the tobacco tax. An override vote in the House is scheduled for Thursday (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/16).

According to the poll, Democrats and independents overwhelmingly support the bill and the override. Although a majority of Republicans support the bill as well, most said they oppose an override the president's veto.

NPR reports that "some of the president's arguments against the bill appear to coincide with public opinion." The poll found that about one-third of U.S. adults believe children in families with annual incomes of $60,000 should be eligible for SCHIP and that 15% believe children in families with annual incomes of $80,000 should be eligible. Ninety percent believe children in families making $20,000 per year should be eligible, and two-thirds support eligibility for children in families earning $40,000 annually.

"I think the sense that this program should be restricted to somewhat more modest income levels is the issue that has resonated most with the general public," said Robert Blendon, a professor of health policy and political analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health who helped design the poll

The president has been "less successful" in arguing that the bill would go too far in expanding the federal government's role, NPR reports. The poll found that more than half of adults do not believe the bill is a step toward government-run health care. Forty percent said the SCHIP expansion could lead to a government-run health system, though "when we followed up, and we asked them about that, half of that group said that was actually a good thing," according to Mollyann Brodie, vice president and director of public opinion and media research for the Kaiser Family Foundation who also designed and analyzed the poll.

According to NPR, researchers were most struck by "how strong support for the bill remained even after people were given the arguments against it." That suggests the "issue is not likely to go away anytime soon" (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 10/17).

Audio and a partial transcript of the "Morning Edition" segment are available online.

Audio of a "The Bryant Park Project" segment also is available online.

The complete poll is available online.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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