Acesso Universal: eleitores democratas e republicanos pensam diferente

The Wall Street Journal publicou pesquisa sobre a questão importantíssima da cobertura universal à atenção médica no país. Americans Want Leaders to AddressCoverage for Uninsured, Poll Shows By BECKEY BRIGHTSeptember 19, 2007 A new poll shows providing health-insurance coverage for more Americans is a top priority for U.S. adults and a majority believe it is the government's duty to ensure all Americans have adequate coverage. The Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive health-care poll, conducted Sept. 10-12, asked how much Americans trust policy makers to come up with good policies for improving and reforming U.S. health care. Overall, the Democrats are more trusted than the Republicans (39% vs. 26%), the poll shows, but both parties as well as all of the leading 2008 presidential candidates included in the survey have seen a decline in the public's trust since February 2007. However, Sen. Hillary Clinton is both the most trusted and the least trusted of the candidates, according to the poll. Four in ten adults say they would trust her, but another one-third say they would not trust her at all to make good policies when it comes to health-care. (The poll was conducted before Sen. Clinton announced on Sept. 17 her plans to guarantee health coverage for all Americans.) Across party lines, there is widely held belief that the U.S. health-care system works better for the very poor and the wealthy than it does for the middle class. (A Harris poll conducted Sept. 7-10 showed health care second only to the war in Iraq as the most important issue Americans want the government to address.) For most U.S. adults, the top health-related issue they would like to see the presidential candidates address is providing coverage for the uninsured. This is the top issue for Democrats and Independents, while Republicans feel containing medical care costs is the No. 1 priority. In addition, the poll shows 82% of Democrats agree with the notion that it is the government's duty to ensure health-care coverage for Americans, compared with 66% of Independents and 47% of Republicans. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats and 55% of Republicans believe the U.S. health-care system could be improved by creating an insurance program that isn't linked to individuals' employers. Only 6% of those polled disagree strongly with that proposal, while 21% said they aren't sure.