As Congress prepares to debate a major overhaul of the nation's healthcare system, Americans already have formed opinions in support of a public health option, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
The EBRI's 12th Annual Health Confidence Survey, released Thursday, indicates attitudes could change as the public learns more about what Congress is proposing and how much it could cost.
The study found that between 68 percent and 88 percent of Americans either strongly or somewhat support health reform ideas that include national health plans, a public plan option, guaranteed issue, expansion of Medicare and Medicaid and employer and individual mandates. Reaction to capping the current tax exclusion of employment-based health benefits is mixed.
The survey also found that if the current tax exclusion of health benefits were capped (as some have proposed), 47 percent of respondents would switch to a less costly plan if the exclusion were set at $5,000, 38 percent would keep their plan and pay the taxes, and 9 percent said they do not know what they would do.
The survey was conducted May 8 to June 2 through 21-minute telephone interviews with 1,000 individuals age 21 and older.
It comes as Republican leaders are arguing that a public health option would create an unlevel playing field for private health insurance. They oppose such a plan, saying it would force many Americans to lose employer-based health insurance.
Democrats argue that adding a public plan will make private insurers "play fair," and would not threaten the current health coverage available in America. Democrats have enough votes to pass any reform legislation that they write, but President Barack Obama and other Democrat leaders have argued that for health reform to be lasting, it will need bipartisan support.
Full details of the 2009 Health Confidence Survey appear in the July 2009 EBRI Issue Brief. The survey is co-sponsored by EBRI, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, and Mathew Greenwald & Associates, a market research firm.