Americans are fed up with big government and want to downsize. That's been the gist of news headlines for some time now. However, a new poll by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Harvard School of Public Health puts the kibosh on that popular notion.
The nationwide poll of nearly 1,600 people age 18 and older found that 52 percent of Americans would rather have a bigger government providing more health services. Thirty-seven percent said they'd rather have a smaller government providing fewer health services.
"In the abstract, you can talk about smaller government and everything, but when you get down to saying 'Well, a lot of things that government supports in health would have to be reduced,' they are going to be very painful discussions," said Robert Blendon, ScD, MBA, a professor of health policy and political analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"Health is a popular area for spending and it's something (people) believe the government should play a role in," he said. "That doesn't mean that they want a government run healthcare system or anything. We're talking about people who are in their minds thinking of Medicare and (the National Institutes of Health) and (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – basic health things – Medicaid – that they think are important.
"They see the government's role, protecting food safety and all, as something that is a higher priority than general government spending. The idea is that health is one of the areas that government is involved in that is more popular than many other things that government does. I think when you look at these other polls that are done about cutting things, people are much more reluctant to cut things that relate to health than they are to some other areas."
As the poll shows, Americans think more spending on healthcare now is the way to go. Sixty percent of poll respondents said they think spending more now on improving health and prevention will save the country money in the long term. "I think there was sense that there are some number of things that you do invest in that will save you some money down the line," Blendon said, such as flu prevention, food protection and immunization programs.
While respondents seem to support increased healthcare spending in the short-term, they are lukewarm with the results of all the spending that has taken place. Only 41 percent of respondents gave the national medical care system an A or B grade, and only 13 percent believe the health of people in the United States has improved over the last five years (45 percent said it has worsened and 40 percent said it has stayed the same).
[See also: U.S. continues to outspend other nations on healthcare.]
Other findings of the poll include:
- Healthcare costs are the most important problem with the nation's medical care system.
- The top spending priorities of the federal government should be improving/fixing Medicaid and Medicare.
- The top spending priorities for state governments should be improving/fixing Medicaid and preventing the spread of disease and preventing domestic violence.
Follow HFN associate editor Stephanie Bouchard on Twitter @SBouchardHFN.