Wide support found for federal-run health plan

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.

The poll found that most Americans would be willing to pay higher taxes so everyone could have health insurance and that they said the government could do a better job of holding down health-care costs than the private sector.

Yet the survey also revealed considerable unease about the impact of heightened government involvement, both on the economy and the quality of the respondents' own medical care. While 85 percent of respondents said the health care system needed fundamental changes or to be completely rebuilt, 77 percent said they were very or somewhat satisfied with the quality of their own care.

That paradox underscores the tricky task facing lawmakers and President Barack Obama as they try to address the health system's substantial problems without igniting fears that people could lose what they like.

Across a number of questions, the poll detected substantial support for a greater government role in health care, a position generally identified with the Democratic Party. When asked which party was more likely to improve health care, only 18 percent of respondents said the Republicans, compared with 57 percent who picked the Democrats. Even one of four Republicans said the Democrats would do better.

The national telephone survey, which was conducted from June 12 to June 16, found that 72 percent of those questioned supported a government-administered insurance plan — something like Medicare for those under 65 — that would compete for customers with private insurers. Twenty percent said they were opposed.

In the poll, the proposal received broad bipartisan backing, with half of those who call themselves Republicans saying they would support a public plan, along with nearly three-fourths of independents and almost nine of 10 Democrats.

The poll, of 895 adults, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Half of those questioned said they thought government would be better at providing medical coverage than private insurers, up from 30 percent in polls conducted in 2007. Nearly 60 percent said Washington would have more success in holding down costs, up from 47 percent.

Sixty-four percent said they thought the federal government should guarantee health coverage, a figure that has stayed steady all decade.

Costs decried

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sensing a political opening, the Senate's GOP leader said Saturday that Democratic efforts to overhaul health care will bury the nation in debt.

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky accused the Obama administration and congressional Democrats of rushing expensive and flawed plans that would result in rationing of care. McConnell's criticism, in the weekly GOP radio and Internet address, came after a rocky start for legislation to revamp the system, with eye-popping cost estimates, partisan anger and divisions within the Democratic ranks.

"Throughout this debate, the administration's central argument has been that America needs health care reform for the sake of the economy," McConnell said. "Yet according to independent estimates, every health care proposal Democrats on Capitol Hill have offered would only hurt the economy."