Support for Universal Healthcare Dropping Among all American Adults According to LightSource Poll

/PRNewswire/ -- When asked how much additional money they are willing to pay each year to achieve truly universal healthcare coverage for all United States citizens, Americans are becoming less willing to provide their own personal funds. According to LightSource Poll, conducted by KJT Group, the average amount that an adult is willing to spend has decreased dramatically over the past year.

The average adult was willing to spend $201 additionally per year as of February 2010. This dropped to $123 per year as of July/August. These figures are broken down in greater detail in Table 1.

Incremental Additional Amount Adults are Willing to Pay
               Yearly to Achieve Universal Healthcare

                                   February '10       July/August '10
                                         ------------       ---------------
                   $0                   73%                  68%
               $1-$50                    8%                  11%
             $51-$100                    6%                   8%
            $101-$150                    1%                   1%
            $151-$200                    2%                   2%
            $201-$250                    0%                   1%
       Over $250                        10%                  10%
       ---------                             ---                  ---
            Mean                        $201                 $123
                ----                        ----                 ----


  Table 1: How much additional adults are willing to pay annually in
          order to achieve truly universal healthcare coverage

Only 32% of all adults are willing to pay any additional amount of money on a yearly basis as of July/August 2010.

For each wave, there were no statistical differences between Democrats, Republicans and Independents in the average amount they are willing to spend on a yearly basis. Democrats and Independents are more likely than Republicans to contribute any amount toward achieving universal healthcare coverage.

Democrats are far more likely than Republicans or Independents to agree with the statement that "Health care is a right, and should be provided to all citizens regardless of ability to pay or their behavior." These results are shown in Table 2.

Democrats       Republicans       Independents

                                    ---------       -----------       ------------

  Completely agree/

    somewhat agree               69%               26%                54%

             -----------------             ---               ---                ---

  Neither agree nor

       disagree                  13%               20%                16%

             -----------------             ---               ---                ---

      Completely

       disagree/

       somewhat

       disagree                  17%               54%                30%

              ----------                ---               ---                ---



Table 2: Percentage of adults who completely agree or somewhat
   agree that "Health care is a right, and should
  be provided to all citizens regardless of ability to pay or their
   behavior." July/August '10

While Democrats and Independents have remained relatively consistent with their agreement over the past year, Republicans have grown more antagonistic with this notion. 33% of Republicans completely disagree with the above statement.

This wave of the LightSource poll was conducted among 1,000 U.S. adults (18 years or older) between July 29 and August 6, 2010. This was a non-probability, stratified sample, collected via web-based interviews. As such, margin of error cannot be accurately estimated. In addition to the results shown here, an oversample of 600 New York State residents was collected and is published separately. For more information such as a detailed methodology, or additional results from this wave of the LightSource, go to www.lightsourcepoll.com.

Is There Any Escape From Medicare?

/PRNewswire/ -- Although people may believe that their insurance worries are over once they qualify for Medicare, both doctors and patients are looking for a private option--especially with Medicare's looming bankruptcy, and ObamaCare's promise to cut half a trillion dollars from it to help fund universal coverage.

Many doctors can't pay their rent on Medicare-allowed fees. Some Medicare patients can't find a doctor willing to see them at all, much less to provide VIP service.

Medicare is supposed to be "voluntary"--except of course for paying the tax. Jane Orient, M.D., executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) explores what that means, in the summer issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. (http://www.jpands.org/vol15no2/orient.pdf)

The original Medicare law promised that the federal government would not interfere in the practice of medicine. Cost escalation, however, quickly led to price controls, "utilization review," and "quality assurance." Courts held that these were constitutional--because Medicare participation is "voluntary." By accepting money from Medicare, a doctor "volunteers" to be bound by more than 100,000 pages of rules.

Physicians are "opting out" of Medicare at an accelerating rate. Additionally, now that Medicare is requiring onerous procedures to enroll, or to "revalidate" enrollment, more physicians are asking why they should.

Medicare has apparently anticipated this exodus. Its new Provider Enrollment and Chain Ownership System (PECOS) may make it impossible for physicians to treat seniors outside the system--or at least for them to order or refer for any service that might be covered by Medicare.

Seniors can't avoid being "covered" by Medicare Part A without relinquishing all Social Security benefits. Moreover, their private insurance options were destroyed when Medicare went into effect.

Why should anyone want to pay for things that are supposed to be free? It's the only way to escape government oversight and rationing. Some patients might feel that a one-hour visit with a physician focused on their problems might be worth more than the government pays for six 10-minute encounters with a nurse practitioner devoted to a government-approved checklist.

Will government be able to keep doctors from offering--and thus patients from receiving--self-paid care? Apparently, it is trying to do so.

Poll Shows Liberals Opposed to Extending Taxpayer Funded Healthcare to Illegal Immigrants

/PRNewswire/ -- According to a nationwide poll of 600 self-identified liberals and progressives, a majority of liberals oppose extending taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants. The poll revealed that although liberals support a universal plan and agree with the President's handling of healthcare reform, many express concern that current proposals would extend healthcare coverage to illegal aliens and result in increased costs. The poll was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC, on September 3, 2009.

Key findings of the poll revealed:
-- Fifty-three percent reported opposition to providing healthcare to
undocumented aliens.
-- Forty-six percent felt that current proposals would likely provide
coverage to illegal immigrants.
-- Forty-eight percent of liberals and progressives felt that providing
healthcare to undocumented immigrants would likely lead to increased
healthcare costs.
-- With regard to the President's handling of healthcare reform, the poll
revealed that sixty- seven percent of self-identified liberals approve
of the President's actions. Seventy-five percent were in support of a
public healthcare plan administered by the federal government and
forty-nine percent felt the President's plan would result in better
overall quality of healthcare services.

"The results of this poll demonstrate that illegal immigration and healthcare are issues that concern all Americans, regardless of political affiliation," says Leah Durant, Executive Director of Progressives for Immigration Reform. "Although liberals favor extending healthcare to America's poorest citizens and legal residents, without entitlement provisions Americans will be asked to shoulder an ever increasing burden for the world's uninsured. It's time to create a new progressive narrative around healthcare that is balanced and fair, and results in policies that are economically sound."

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