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The Snapshot: Positive Signs for Health Care Reform
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Ruy Teixeira,
The Century Foundation,
3/31/2010
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Health care reform, the biggest piece of social legislation passed since 1965, is now the law of the land. This historic achievement is getting some positive reactions from the public now that the painful congressional process has finally ended and there is an actual piece of legislation to consider. Of course, much of the public is still uncertain about what exactly is in the bill and how it will affect them, but these early reactions are nevertheless encouraging. At minimum, they suggest that conservative predictions of a massive public uprising against health care reform were decidedly overwrought.
Consider these findings from a Gallup poll taken right after the House passed the Senate reform bill. In that poll, 49 percent said they thought it was a good thing that Congress passed a bill restructuring the nation’s health care system, compared to 40 percent who thought that was a bad thing. This plurality possibly reflects some individuals moving toward supporting the bill who previously had opposed it because it didn’t go far enough (about 10 to 15 percent of the public). This group, whose opposition to health care bills in Congress has stemmed from progressive rather than conservative priorities, is a plausible candidate for early increases in support generated by the new legislation.
Reflecting this judgment, 50 percent in the Gallup poll were either enthusiastic (15 percent) or pleased (35 percent) the House passed the health care bill, compared to 42 percent who said they were disappointed (23 percent) or angry (19 percent).
Doesn’t sound like an uprising to me. In fact, we may wind up with something quite different that wasn’t in the conservative playbook: a gradual increase in support for the health care reform bill as more and more people become aware of what’s actually in the bill and start to benefit from it.
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The Health Beat by Maggie Mahar Blog
 The Century Foundation fellow, Maggie Mahar discusses today's most pressing health care policy issues in The Health Beat by Maggie Mahar blog. Click here to view.
Getting More Value from Medicare
In “Getting More Value from Medicare,” The Century Foundation, fellow and HealthBeat Blog editor Maggie Mahar points out that past proposals for containing Medicare’s costs, such as putting a cap on physicians’ fees or requiring beneficiaries to pay more for their care, have not worked.
Money-Driven Medicine
 View, Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much (Harper/Collins 2006), a book by The Century Foundation's Health Fellow, Maggie Mahar. |
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A Second Opinion
Dr. Arnold Relman,
PublicAffairs,
The Century Foundation,
4/23/2007
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Medicare Tomorrow
The Century Foundation Task Force on Medicare Reform, Century Foundation Press
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