My post on the GOP Presidential candidates and universal coverage elicited more than a few responses, most of which were cordial and helpful. Several took exception to the poll I cited (conducted by GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio’s firm) noting (accurately) that it was over six months old.
Fortunately, a comprehensive analysis of polling data re health care was just published. There’s a lot here, but the net is this – lots of Republicans support universal coverage. For example, in a NYTimes poll from late 2006, 44% of the Republicans polled favored “requiring…everyone have health insurance, with government helping to pay for insurance for those who cannot afford it.”
That is a lower percentage than the June poll; the difference could be in the wording of the questions or perhaps the population’s concern had grown over the eight months.
UPDATE – Another, very recent poll found similar support among Republicans for universal coverage – fully 65% would support reform that helped reduce the number of uninsured (23% favoring a plan to cover everyone, even if it would result in substantial additional spending and the remainder looking for a less ambitious plan that would likely only cover some of the currently uninsured)
The same poll found a slight majority of Republicans (53%) did not favor an individual mandate (a topic that is related to but not the same as universal coverage).
Comparing poll results can be touchy as the questions are usually different; Fabrizio’s June poll found 51% of Republicans agreed with the statement “Universal health care coverage SHOULD BE a guaranteed right of every American” (original emphasis).
And yet another poll, this one by the Commonwealth Fund, found a similar result – 52% of Republicans were strongly or somewhat in favor of requiring individuals to have health insurance coverage, with government help for those with limited incomes. (for independents the corresponding figure was 68%)
The Fabrizio poll is remarkably detailed and provides a breakdown of the perspectives of specific groups of Republicans. There are three segments that are most favorably disposed to universal coverage.
“Moralists” are the largest single group, accounting for 24% of all Republicans. Among the ‘moralists’, 48% were in favor of universal coverage. This segment is predominantly Born Again or Evangelical, poorer than the average, and disproportionately female.
13% of those polled were identified as “government knows best” Republicans (isn’t that an oxymoron?). The GKB folks were typically female and McCain fans, and fully 93% were supportive of universal coverage.
The third group, ‘Heartland’ Republicans (also 13%), were also McCain backers. Predominantly midwesterners, 72% supported universal coverage.
Digging ever deeper into the numbers, Republicans were more concerned with the cost of care (42%) than with covering everyone (19%). (Listening to Sen. Obama on health care makes me wonder if he carefully studied Fabrizio’s poll before coming out with the PR spin for his health reform plan; although Obama’s reform initiative is virtually identical to Sen. Clinton’s (except for mandated universal coverage), he has been consistently emphasizing cost control.)
While there are clear differences between the two camps, they do agree on one major issue: fewer than one in five voters, Republican or Democrat, believe it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that people have health care.