Realities of Healthcare Reform

Gallup.com just came out with a feature article/poll titled, "Americans on healthcare reform; 5 key realities." Below is a discussion pertaining to these.

1. Public opinion on healthcare is divided yet stable. As recent discussions have stated, there is a split on those for healthcare and those who are against it, yet this split is not a major one. It is pretty close and has been pretty consistent, varying slightly over the past few months.

2. Americans do not have a strong sense of urgency about passing healthcare reform. Just as I talked about the past week in one of my blogs, Americans would rather have it done right then rushed. This was displayed when the media ridiculued Congress for not fully reading the healthcare bill. Americans want no suprises and they want those who are making the decision to be informed on the topic and make good choices.

3. Self-Interest is only part of the story. Despite whether or not an individual has healthcare does not necessarily mean they will vote for or against it. Gallup found that fewer than half of the individuals who had no health insurance would encourage Congress to vote for the healthcare reform bill. And some who have healthcare are not happy with the costs.

4. Specific elements of healthcare have strong appeal; few do not. People do not want to be discriminated against in regards to medical conditions by private insurers; such as obesity, smoking, past problems, etc. Yet people also do not want taxes to rise to pay for the needed changes in healthcare.

5. Obama retains the upper-hand. Obama, who is for the healthcare reform, is more popular with the public than the opponenets of the plan, who are the Republicans. And the Democratic party does have majority control in the Houses.