Poll: Two-Thirds Confused by Health Reform

(CBS)  Most Americans find the health care reforms being discussed in Congress confusing and say President Obama has not clearly explained his plans to overhaul the system, according to a CBS News poll released Tuesday.

Two in three Americans call the health care reforms being debated by lawmakers confusing; only 31 percent said they have a clear understanding of the proposed changes. Sixty-seven percent of those questioned said the reform ideas were confusing.

This evaluation cuts across party lines, with majorities of both Republicans (69 percent) and Democrats (58 percent) saying the current proposals are confusing.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

Most Americans (60 percent) say the President has not clearly explained his health care reform plans. While slightly more than half of Democrats think Mr. Obama has clearly explained his plans, majorities of Republicans and independent voters say he has not.

Government vs. Private Industry

Americans also have increasing doubts as to how well the government can compete with private insurers. Just under half of those questioned said the government would do a worse job providing medical coverage - only 36 percent said it would do better, marking a change since earlier this summer.

There has also been a significant drop in the percentage that says government would be better than insurers at keeping costs down; from 59 percent in June to 47 percent now. Still, more said the government rather than private insurers would do a better job containing costs.

Town Halls

Most Americans have heard or read something about the protestors who attended recent town hall meetings on health care reform. Among those who have heard about them, almost half (49 percent) said the protestors do not reflect the views of most Americans, but 41 percent said they do.

A majority of Republicans (66 percent) said the protestors reflect the opinions of Americans as a whole, while a slightly larger proportion of Democratic participants did not (73 percent). Among those aged 65 and over, 45 percent said the protestors' views were in line with those of most Americans - the highest of any age group.

PDF: Read the Complete Poll

See Also -- Poll: Obama's Ratings on Afghanistan Drop

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This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,097 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone August 27-31, 2009. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[wmb1957]

Will you be able to keep your current insurance plan if you like it?
Probably not, at least if you read the H.R. 3200 literally.
Will illegal aliens be covered.
This seems likely, and they will be eligible for subsidies in some cases.
Will businesses be hurt?
It doesn't look like it, the costs are pushed over to individuals in most cases. An employer can pay 8% at most by going to the public option while currently the averge (as of 2005 BLS Labor Monthly Reveiw 2008) was 10%. The employee would pay the full cost in the exchange however, unless their income was low enough to be subsidized, from what I understand.

Are abortions covered. They are in at least some plans, if I understand correctly, this is another area it is difficult to read.

The costs will likley be more expensive for many then their current plans are. Premiums are set by income with subsidies below four times the poverty level. Those above four times the poverty level can pay up to 11% of their income (gross?) as a premium. Some middle class families could be paying a fifth of their income (from a liberal site) for coverage they pay considerably less for now.

Cost sharing, above premiums, seems to be %5000 for an individual, and $10,000 for a family.

[Ferrell-2]

This health bill will pass and it will make O'Bama our first one-term president in many moons, not to mention the scads of congressmen that will be ousted.

[devilfly1]

Highmark Inc. is a $5 billion health insurance company created from the consolidation of Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Blue Shield. The company contracted with KPMG Consulting Inc. to create an electronic billing and accounts-receivable system. Highmark claims that KPMG abandoned the two-year, $12 million project after it missed deadlines and experienced cost overruns from mistakes. Highmark claims KPMG was more than a year behind schedule and attempted to charge an additional $8 million to complete the first phase of the project. KPMG spokesman John Schneidawind responded that "We've been able to deliver on our part of the project, but through much of the engagement, Highmark hasn't done its part to ensure a successful implementation of the payment system on time and on budget." Highmark claims that KPMG failed to "satisfactorily" complete the database design detailed application architecture, and software design specifications. Consequently, developers began coding even through the design was not stabile. Highmark states that KPMG admitted that "much of the coding work performed during the summer of 2000 was useless and would have to be redone," which would result in 8,000 additional hours of development time.


Sources: Adapted from Lucas Mearian, "Insurer Sues, Claims KPMG Mismanaged Billing Project, Computerworld, November 12,2001 and Lucas Merain, "Highmark sues KPMG over Failed IT Project," Computerworld, November 7, 2001


What do you think of Reality Bytes?

[beeker252]

The 'Commissioner' will make all decisions about your health care with input from Tom Daschle's "Comparable Effectiveness Research Commission (former non-profit Council)" which they funded in HR 1. The "Commissioner" will be drawing up protocols for your health care whether you have a government option or private insurance policy
The comparable effectiveness Research was created by a executive order by Bush 43 as a means to make better use of medicine to provide the best way to provide care at the least amount (insurance companies do this all the time)
It has been used by Betsy McCoughey and Rep. Tom Price as talking points to argue government takeover despite FactCheck.org efforts to refute and debunk McCoughey's assertion which she admitted that she read between the lines what she thought it would do when it does not say so at all. It lives on another day because people read into something that is not going to happen. As for the rest of the gibberish, it is because laws are crafted this way and has been that way since man got educated.

[ayn_rand_not]

Guess this means that CBS and the other corporate media is doing its job and protecting insurance industry profits. It's not as if any of the major media has done any honest reporting - it's all a game of false equivalence and "he said, she said".

[htophet]

As a 63 year old veteran and son of relatives? who fought for this country going back to the American Revolution I find the confusion of this crowd contrived. I find these people acting as provocateurs, apparently getting closer everyday to using guns to start an over throw of the remains of our secular democracy. [The parts left after the last eight years of illegalities by the prior gop criminal Adminstration]
Confusion indeed, the only confusion is why the majority that elected Obama has stood by and watched the loony tuners hog the air waves with staged and corporate paid provocateurs shutting downing our grass roots efforts to get corporate America out of total control of health in our country.
Their very effort shows corporate America to be contemptuous of the American people [except for their bought dogs] and our goverment. There seems only one of two ways this group of people can be handled. One we can ignor them, but order the FBI to track the money back to the ring leaders, then have then sued/fined/seized/ by anyone who can prove they dishonestly cheated them. [Of course the line will be miles long so get there early] If anyone who does not live in the district comes to upset a town meeting they should get a 10 thousand dollar fine, perhaps a conviction as a felon, that would stop the majority and maybe even have them listed on the ?people of interest? on the FBI rolls.
Or we could just have all citzens who are spreading these lies investigated as well as these nutbags carrying guns; does anyone think these are anything but trouble makers? Check them out, dumb as a doorknob, uneducated rednecks attempting to intimidate real Americans by attacking our countries hearings, in my book a treasonable acts which borders on Benidict Arnolds hatred of my country. If found guilty of this they should forfeit all their SSI, VA, MediCal socialized federal program benefits and see if that convinces them all they have been told were lies, finally!
Also, as a veteran who rejects all Taliban types, [All fundamentalists religions ] I would authorize in a heart beat the investigation of anyone or any church who would encourage anyone to bring a gun to a public meeting, president or not. There should be severe punishment by the states so that allowing such nonsense is costly. Perhaps we could publish the states and names that condone this behavior to all countries that send tourist to our country, so as to steer them to a civilized, civil, and respectful part of America, away from these provocateurs homes and businesses.
Be warned that these same types of people stood up in public in Texas the other day calling for the separation of Texas from the union. How is it possible the civil war could have been taught in the schools that are funded by federal money there? If this subject of truthful history had been taught like the law required then these persons would have known that issue was resolved after the complete and utter destruction of all armies and southern cities!
I intend to watch and listen more closely and record all suspected behavior of neighbors who exhibit neo-nazi-con traits like attacking American institutions like our local town hall meetings. We should all study our potential enemies like the Constitutional oath demanded of me, to help protect against foreign as well as domestic enemies. Vigilance in the defense of liberty is no vice. [Barry Gold water 1963]

[lilsmom-2009]

Hi everyone, just a good place to read each proposal and compare one to the other is on AARP. No editorial...just what is in each of the bills out of committees and the Presidents proposal. Please take time to get informed, we really have been trying for 40 years to get help for the average little guy. Nothing hard to read and understand at this site. I don't think you have to be a member to read the different stuff. Say a prayer this evening for California and all the brave firefighters out there.

[hungry1968-16]

by Mortarman29 September 1, 2009 7:27 PM EDT
I already told you Hungry. What is to stop it is that if I had a company tell me to do that, I would be getting rid of that company!! And getting a different one. Me and many like me who did not like the cutomoer service.







You can't "get rid of that HMO" once you've been diagnosed with something wrong with you.

It's called a "pre-existing condition", and NO INSURANCE company will want you, OR take you!!

[hungry1968-16]

by Mortarman29 September 1, 2009 7:20 PM EDT

And no, it wasnt the conservatives. The conservatives fro mday one said the CRA and other laws/regulations like them were a joke and were screwing up the financial system and allowing loan makers to play on the edges with government money. Liberals in both parties went ahead with it, though.







http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2008/09/community_reinv.html

"Fresh off the false and politicized attack on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, today we?re hearing the know-nothings blame the subprime crisis on the Community Reinvestment Act ? a 30-year-old law that was actually weakened by the Bush administration just as the worst lending wave began. This is even more ridiculous than blaming Freddie and Fannie.

The Community Reinvestment Act, passed in 1977, requires banks to lend in the low-income neighborhoods where they take deposits. Just the idea that a lending crisis created from 2004 to 2007 was caused by a 1977 law is silly. But it?s even more ridiculous when you consider that most subprime loans were made by firms that aren?t subject to the CRA. University of Michigan law professor Michael Barr testified back in February before the House Committee on Financial Services that 50% of subprime loans were made by mortgage service companies not subject comprehensive federal supervision and another 30% were made by affiliates of banks or thrifts which are not subject to routine supervision or examinations. As former Fed Governor Ned Gramlich said in an August, 2007, speech shortly before he passed away: "In the subprime market where we badly need supervision, a majority of loans are made with very little supervision. It is like a city with a murder law, but no cops on the beat."



Tell me again how the government - dominated at the time by the republicans in congress, the senate, and the White House - DID NOT loo the other way.

[hungry1968-16]

by Mortarman29 September 1, 2009 7:24 PM EDT
Even former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines (himself a crook) stated that the CRA was a ctalyst in encouraging bad loans.







Link?