Americans fear higher costs, worse care if health care reform plan is passed

PALO ALTO, Calif., July 31, 2009:

Many Americans fear they will pay more for health care and receive worse care if President Obama and Congress pass a health care reform plan. A majority of Americans (53%) think they would pay more, either in taxes or insurance costs, under such a plan. By a 35% to 20% margin, they believe that they personally would receive worse care than now.

Although 2/3 of respondents to the July 26-28, 2009 YouGov PollingPoint poll identified the high cost of health care as a major problem, they don’t think that President Obama shares this priority. 59% believe that the President’s health care reform plan is more focused on extending health care to the uninsured than tackling costs.

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In the July 26-28 poll, President Obama’s approval rating sank to 50% for the first time in his Presidency, an all-time low.

Interested in more details about the poll? We have a topline summary and complete tabs available now.

Methodology:

These results are from a weekly YouGov PollingPoint public opinion tracking poll conducted for publication in The Economist. The poll surveyed 1,000 respondents and was fielded from July 26-28, 2009. Results from interviews conducted online by members of the PollingPoint panel are representative of the U.S. adult population. The margin of error for this poll is +/- 4.9%.