New Poll Shows Tremendous Support for Public Health Care Option

[marmar]

from OurFuture.org:



New Poll Shows Tremendous Support for Public Health Care Option
By Bernie Horn

June 15, 2009 - 12:24pm ET


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


Eighty-three percent of Americans favor and only 14 percent oppose “creating a new public health insurance plan that anyone can purchase” according to EBRI, a conservative business research organization. This flatly contradicts conservatives’ loudest attack against President Obama’s plan to provide quality, affordable health care for all.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) calls itself “the most authoritative and objective source of information” on the issues of employee retirement and health benefits. Founded in 1978, EBRI says it “is the gold standard for private analysts and decision makers, government policymakers, the media, and the public.” And EBRI is funded by many of the largest corporations in America.

EBRI’s biggest donors include: AT&T, Bank of America, Boeing, General Dynamics, General Mills, IBM, JBMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Northop Grumman, Schering-Plough, Schwab, T.Rowe Price, UBS Financial, and Wal-Mart. EBRI also receives large contributions from the insurance industry, including: Blue Cross Blue Shield, CIGNA, Hartford, Kaiser Permanente, Massachusetts Mutual, Metropolitan Life, Union Labor Life, and UnitedHealth.

Here’s who paid for the poll, as stated by EBRI:

This survey was made possible with support from AARP, American Express, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Buck Consultants, Chevron, Deere & Company, IBM, Mercer, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Principal Financial Group, Schering-Plough Corp., Shell Oil Company, The Commonwealth Fund, and Towers Perrin.

So clearly, no one can accuse this organization of being “liberal” on health care issues. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009062515/new-poll-shows-tremendous-support-public-health-care-option

[MNDemNY]

1. Who cares what the people want???

Don't you know that it would be a disaster for the health insurance industry??? For fuck sake, we need to support our industries in this time of recession. Think of the children dreaming of a career in the health insurance industry. How can you people be so goddamn selfish?

[boobooday]

7. LOL think of the children!

Those poor little souls who dream of someday growing up and denying health care to another poor soul.

[Thrill]

2. President Obama and Howard Dean are the only capable Democrats who can sell it on TV

Its a disgrace watching the other Dems

[NYC Democrat]

16. Ya the party really needs to learn to the meaning of the word "messaging"

the Republicans are masters of messaging look at the polls on closing gitmo early i the year they pretty much all showed the majority of Americans favored closing Gitmo now After the Republicans media assault the majority of Americans oppose closing Gitmo

[Statistical]

24. The thing is it ALREADY is sold

83%! 83% of Americans can't agree on the weather.

They don't need to sell anything it is already sold.

Just do it!

[clear eye]

29. Actually it's not clear what, exactly, is sold.

The poll didn't distinguish between a public option along w/ private insurers, and single payer. All it asked was whether the respondent wanted a gov't payed health plan. Calling it support for a public option was EBRI's editorializing. See the list of their major funders in my post below: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5854205&mesg_id=5862572

It is a much more complete list than the OP posted, taken directly from their website.

[DaLittle Kitty]

34. John Russell Debating RIGHT WING BRAIN SURGEON On Radio John KICKS ASS! LINK

John was the 2006-08 nominee in Florida's 5th Congressional District www.johnrussellforcongress.com John is an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with an MBA in Health Systems Management.

Here's the LINK to the ddddebate! It's a beautiful thing! http://sound.wmnf.org/sound/wmnf_090618_130500_radioactivityr_191.MP3

[damntexdem]

3. But that's just what the people want.

It's not at all what our lords and masters want.

Who do you think will get their way?

[wildflower]

11. You remind me also of that line from "Airplane"...

When Robert Stack says "That's just what they'll be expecting us to do."

[Still Sensible]

13. And stop calling me Shirley! n/t

[Hannah Bell]

4. kick

[JimWis]

5. K&R - and thanks for posting the info. It's encouraging to see

so many people want a public option.

[clear eye]

30. People want some form of gov't plan

The poll was intentionally vague on whether the "gov't plan" would be in conjunction w/ private insurers or a single payer plan. Calling it support for a public option is EBRI's spin. See the list of their largest funders (many more than listed in the OP) here: http://www.ebri.org/about/members /

[TahitiNut]

6. That's why it's so "DANGEROUS"! After all, who'd pay the fat cats more for less?

The health insurance lobby's whole rationale for wanting such an option blocked is because people would choose the public option INSTEAD of the for-profit option. Democracy is dangerous. Choice is dangerous.

:grr:

[Cleita]

8. I'll bet those weren't the results they were looking for.

:rofl:

[SammyWinstonJack]

15. It won't matter anyway. The Health Insurance Corps will get what they want and the rest of us

can go pound sand or just die.

Die after paying through the nose, that is, for those who were 'lucky' enough to be able to pay.

[clear eye]

31. Sorry, Cleita, you'd lose that bet.

As long as the insurance industry is not prevented from excluding people w/ pre-existing conditions, and can continue to cut off people who lose their jobs because they're too sick to continue working, the insurers are only to happy to have the taxpayers pick up the tab via a "public option" for those whose condition makes them a losing proposition.

Please, people, don't imagine that the health insurance industry opposes a public option. They simply want to make sure it's designed to cover only those who are too poor or sick to pay for private insurance.

[xchrom]

9. lucky #7 nt

[wildflower]

10. Wow. I'm bookmarking this.

Spread it far and wide.

[Wednesdays]

12. K&R

:kick:

[Kablooie]

14. But Republican politicians don't want it so we can't have it.

I wish Obama would stop catering to these sorry assholes but he seems to still let them call the shots.

[jtrockville]

17. It drives me nuts to hear the talking heads say things like...

(paraphrased) "...but lawmakers worry that the insurance industry won't be able to compete with a public option because it will have lower costs."

DUH

But no one seems to wonder:
DO WE EXIST TO SUBSIDIZE THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY?
OR ANY INDUSTRY FOR THAT MATTER?

Is that our purpose in this world?
Or does industry and government exist to SERVE US?

[4_TN_TITANS]

18. "insurance plan that anyone can purchase"

Nothing will be a fix until we lose the word INSURANCE.

[DesertFlower]

19. if insurance companies are doing

the great job the politicians say they are, then they have nothing to fear from a public plan.

[moondust]

20. Yes! The public plan won't last 5 years!

What a joke! There's no way a public plan can compete with the highly efficient, streamlined, professional, private insurance companies and HMOs, etc.

Here's your typical insurance CEO:




(:sarcasm:)

[clear eye]

32. Who says their vision of a public option would be allowed to compete

w/ private insurers. EBRI's funders are delighted to endorse a public option that sticks taxpayers with the huge cost of subsidizing care for the sickest and those who can't afford private insurance. They don't care if it includes painful cuts in permitted treatments, or if the cost further destroys our already shaky economy. Their only concern is that they still be permitted to exclude people w/ "pre-existing" conditions, and cut off people who lose their jobs because they're too sick to work.

If all the public option does is reduce the pressure on the private insurers to live up to their end of the contract, they couldn't be happier.

[billyoc]

21. Can you take out those dashes?

The "--------------------------------------------------------------------------------" is wrecking the front page.

:hi:

[NorthCarolina]

22. I think that Tremendous Public Support is most likely to result in

Tremendous Public Disappointment.

[harun]

23. Then there will be a tremendous loss to Dems next election.

[avaistheone1]

25. k&r

[Kingofalldems]

26. But no, we can't have that --The Washington Post and blue dog

republicans say so.

[Kingofalldems]

27. K and R again

[clear eye]

28. Poll didn't distinguish "public option" from single-payer

Here is the list of EBRI's largest funders (http://www.ebri.org/about/members/):

American Express Company
American Funds/The Capital Group Companies
American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries
America's Health Insurance Plans
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Association of American Medical Colleges
AT&T
Bank of America
Barclays Global Investors, NA
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Boeing Company
Buck Consultants, an ACS Company
Callan Associates
CIGNA
The Commonwealth Fund
Deere & Company
Deloitte Consulting LLP
Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators
Diversified Investment Advisors

DST Retirement Solutions
DTE Energy
Fidelity Investments
General Dynamics
General Mills
Genworth Financial
Hartford Life Insurance Company
Hewitt Associates LLC
HR Policy Association
IBM Corporation
ING Institutional Plan Services
Investment Company Institute
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy
Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Company
Mercer
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
MFS Investment Management
Milliman USA, Inc.
Morgan Stanley
National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Nationwide Financial
Northrop Grumman Corporation
PIMCO
Principal Financial Group
Prudential Retirement
Putnam Investments
Russell Investments
Schering-Plough Corporation
Schwab

The Segal Company
Society for Human Resource Management
State Street Corporation
T. Rowe Price
Towers Perrin

UBS Financial Services, Inc.

Union Labor Life Insurance Company
UnitedHealth Group
Vanguard Group
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

[quidam56]

33. I support single-pay because I've seen what is called

quality health care in Tennessee and Virginia... http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=62