NY Times/CBS News Poll: Wide Support For Government-Run Option Competing With Private Insurers

New York Times:

Americans overwhelmingly support substantial changes to the health care system and are strongly behind one of the most contentious proposals Congress is considering, a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[moonflowerjewelry]

you think?

[idisVA]

Look guys, take the poll results and plaster it all over the offices of the so-called Blue Dogs Dems and every Republican member of Congress. The people have spoken again in case you missed their message last November. Enough is enough. Give us a government-run health insurance.

[epiphany1234]

If we yell "SINGLE PAYER PUBLIC OPTION" loud enough and long enough, maybe Congress will hear us.

We are, after all, the 300,000 million pound elephant in the room.

[epiphany1234]

...300 million pound elephant....

Congress can pretend a tsunami of public opinion is not rising if they want.... but it will be to their political detriment.

[bygollymissmolly]

Maybe we need to hit the streets like the people in Iran. If they were to have a demonstration anywhere within driving distance of where I live, I'll be there.

[Bloggerrogr]

Organize one, then! Get off your behind!
That's what's happening in Iran right now.
We need to do it here as well.

[Jond0]

We don't matter... until we stop paying our bills and buying things, that is. A sick person paying premiums is worth a lot more than a healthy activist taking money from their second/third home.

[kasinca]

Anything less is totally unacceptable. The current care for profit model had failed everyone except those drawing huge salaries and kickbacks.

[tomasedison]

Turns out the public HATES our heath INSURANCE companies. Is anybody really surprised ?

[whatthel]

With good reason.

[smchp]

According to the GOP, America has the best healthcare in the world. What are you talking about. The GOP knows what they are talking about.............../sarcasm off.

[tomasedison]

I'm always amused when the GOP goes to work and tries to convince you that the 47 million uninsured Americans 'really don't' want heath insurance because most can afford it - yeah, if they gave up their houses and cars and didn't eat anymore.

[Jond0]

The people arguing different are the ones rich enough to not need insurance and can pay cash when they need care -- it worries them greatly that they may have to wait in line or even be denied the opportunity to get themselves well while telling the rest of us how great the system works for them. Once again the 1% dictates to the remaining 99%.

[larce1948]

Not according to the bought and paid for politicians and corporate media including C-span.
How is it possible they could be wrong?

[secret38b]

I always thought C-span wasn't right. Every time I turned it on, there was a Republican.

[kasinca]

I quit watching because they have too many wingnut republicans on there. This librul media thing the wingnuts use is only because they have a network of alternate reality so everything seems left from where they are. Everybody is left of the phony network, FAUX.

[Bloggerrogr]

..that should have been your first clue...

[Palmz]

The president should not yield ground to the Republicans on this issue. Let them eat cake!

[Bryant Turnage]

I think that so far, Congress has shown it doesn't care what the American people want. As happens all too often, "leaders" from both parties are scared of upsetting the corporations and special interest groups to which they are beholden. The American people will once again be ignored in favor of the corporations - in this case, largely the giant insurance companies, as well as the AMA - and we will probably end up with a "compromise" bill that still leaves insurance companies in charge, yet ends up costing Americans even more in taxes while not improving our benefits and coverage. Yes, at this point, you can definitely say I'm a skeptic.

Obama and the Democrats need to step up to a plate and ram through a single-payer government system that works, remove the health insurance industry and its wasteful, profit-driven practices, and give the American people health care that we need and deserve. We're willing to pay for it. We know from the examples of countries like Canada and France that it can work. Now we just need leaders willing to lead and give it to us.

[D-V-H]

Repost but relevant:

People wonder how the government will pay for public health care insurance. First off, when we stop paying a 20-45% markup for private insurance instead of the 3-4% Medicare costs, we will immediately have a large savings. In 2007 the average cost, per person was $7900. This would be a minimum annual savings of $1200 per person. Taken out to the whole country we are talking a savings of $379,200,000,000. If we go to the upper range of private health insurance overhead/profit we could realize a savings of $853,200,000,000 per year.

In other words we are throwing away $380-850 billion every year to companies that provide nothing more than being money shufflers. These are just the numbers from 2007. The projections for 2017 estimate an almost doubling of these numbers(80% increase) putting the amount private insurance skims from our health care on the order of $680 billion to $1.5 trillion every year.

If we could combine these savings with reducing the enormous profits of hospitals (they used to be non-profit) we could see even more productive use of OUR money.
**
They say taxes will go up. But they conveniently forget to mention that because we won't be paying for health insurance directly or through our employers, our take home pay will actually increase.

[kasinca]

Good post. Well said. The huge trade off of high premium savings will offset the tax increase. It is a wash.

[rosal]

I am not surprised, the ones that are going to be surprised in 2010 are the politicians that vote against reform. This time the country has the last word. And for all those that complain about the cost, pretend the money is to start an unnecessary war, this will make it easier to find the money.

[ggmome]

Why are we being ham strung by those who haven't had a clue for the past 8 years? They haven't heard a word We, the People have said, and don't know what we want, because they were busy doing what they wanted...

[x4faith]

Can we KNOW SAY TO HE!! WITH A BI-PARTISON VOTE!

[x4faith]

Okay...Now, tell us something that we DON'T know!

[Philip Combs]

Sorry, that's 'off the table...' eh Mr. President....Rahm....'Fittin' Harry Reid'...so sorrry.

What you, the citizens, want doan matter. After all this is America and '....you get what you pay for...' and no, the health care and salary Congress gets....well, you ain't payin' enough.

It's Ca$h Congress wants and in that department my fellow citizens Congress and President Obama find you all sadly.....

....wanting.

[Philip Combs]

And you will continue to want, real health care that is, until you get up off your fat asses and go to DeeCee en masse and demand, in person, that Congress and the President....

...STOP TAKING BRIBES AND REPRESENT THE PEOPLE.

[Kassandra]

Should've worked harder and smarter and you wouldn't find yourself in the shape you're in...personal responsibility, ya know.

[Bloggerrogr]

I went to school in AZ with a fellow named Phil Combs. He was very intelligent.

Just sayin'