US health care reform faces strong opposition
0 Comments
More Americans are opposed to the health care reform bill, which was recently passed at the House of Representatives, than those who support it, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
The poll conducted by CNN and Opinion Research showed that about 49 percent of Americans polled said they opposed the legislation, while 46 percent approved it.
"Roughly one in three Americans opposes the House bill because it is too liberal, but one in 10 oppose the bill because it is not liberal enough," said CNN polling director Keating Holland.
The House bill, which was passed on Nov. 7, would lead to the biggest policy changes to the US health care system since the government established the Medicare, a social health insurance program for the elderly, in 1965.
The 2,000-page bill, combining three different versions drafted by different House committees, would cost 1.1 trillion US dollars over next 10 years, but would extend insurance coverage to 96 percent of Americans, including 36 million uninsured currently, and eventually cut the federal deficit by roughly 30 billion dollars.
The Senate is still finalizing its own health care reform bill, which would probably be soon submitted to the whole floor for debate.
The poll found that 30 percent of interviewees wanted the Senate to pass the House bill with minor changes, while 22 percent wanting a bill passed at the Senate with major changes. Another 28 percent said that the Senate should start working on a a completely new bill.
The wresting on the health care reform was expected to bring an impact on the mid-term elections next year, when all 435 seats in the House and more than a third in the Senate are up for grabs.
About 49 percent said that they would still vote for Democratic candidates in their congressional district, while 43 percent would support Republicans, according to the poll.
