New Health Care Poll

Poll results released yesterday provided new information about what Massachusetts residents think about health care. The poll was conducted by Tom Kiley of Boston and was commissioned by the Affordable Care Today Campaign – a coalition of 32 health care advocate groups, labor unions, consumers, doctors, and hospitals. Kiley said in a State House News Service article that “Compared to what we’ve seen in the past, it seems clear that the public is becoming more receptive to making major changes in the health care system.”
The poll shows an increasing number of residents are more concerned with the state’s health care system than they are about education, jobs, or taxes.
70 percent said they would favor a 50-cent cigarette tax increase, and 65 percent would support a new tax for employers whose employees use state-funded health care resources. Of those polled, 46 percent reported being “most concerned” with lack of health insurance and 40 percent were most concerned with the cost. People were also very concerned about the potential of increased taxes and extra burdens on businesses.
The concern over access to and cost of health insurance are particularly striking since 90% of those polled had insurance. It’s clearly not just a problem for the uninsured. It’s up front and center in the minds of a huge number of Massachusetts residents.
The poll surveyed 600 Massachusetts residents and had a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percent. (Click here for SHNS article)