Poll: Americans Fear Govt-Run Health Care More Than Insurance Companies
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 10, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The problems with the Congressional health care bills have become so pervasive that Americans have gotten to the point that they don’t believe the federal government can be trusted on the issue. A new Rasmussen poll released today shows 51 percent of Americans now fear the federal government more than private insurance companies.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 41% hold the opposite view and fear the insurance companies more.
Seven percent are unsure which they fear the most.
Among those who have health insurance, 53% fear the government more than insurance companies while 39% take the opposite view. Those without insurance fear the insurance companies more.
Adults under 30 fear the insurance companies more while those in their 40s are evenly divided. However, a solid majority of those over 40 fear the government more.
That result trends with other polls and surveys showing older Americans becoming increasingly more skeptical of the federal government as fears mount that the current health care "reform" plans will result in rationing or encouraging euthanasia.
"These findings help explain fears by some of a government ‘takeover’ of health care under the reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats," pollster Scott Rasmussen wrote in his analysis.
Not surprisingly, there is a huge partisan divide on this question.
Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Democrats fear private insurance companies more than government while 82% of Republicans hold the opposite view. As for those not affiliated with either major party, 53% fear government more.
Most of those who attend church at least once a month fear the government more. Those who rarely or never attend church or religious services fear private insurance companies more.
As Congress has debated potential reforms, confidence in U.S. health care system has increased. Just 19% of Americans now rate the overall system as poor while 48% say it’s good or excellent.
Voters are fairly evenly divided in their views of the protesters at town hall meetings, but 49% believe they are genuinely expressing the views of their neighbors. Thirty-seven percent (37%) believe the protests are phony.
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