heathcare -- where next?

8/13/2019 Heathcare -- Where Next?

1/18Naionwide Poll & Focus Group Findings |January 20

HealthCare:Where Nex


2/18

p1.Health Care a Top

Concern,

Shutdown Is Not

Health care is the publics No.1 concern after the economyand jobs and is irmly on topo voters minds heading into2014 for both supporters andopponents o Obamacare. Only 7percent o voters deem last fallsshutdown a top concern

p3. Voters Pessimistic

About Obamacare

Since the summer, the share othose who say they will be worseoff under it has risen by 6 points and is now the answer o aclear plurality o voters

Table ofContents

p4. Obama Has Lost the

Middle

President Obamas job approvalrating has fallen below 50percent; health care is the biggest

drag

p5.Both Sides Agree

Delay Is Prudent

Voters in every category supporta delay to make the law fair andworkable for everyone

p7. Test Messages:

Replace Beats Fix

Voters are more open than everto replacing Obamacare; o ivetested criticisms o the law,congressional hypocrisy andMedicare cuts are most effective

p10. Voters

Are Open to

Alternatives

Obamacaredefenders are opento alternative healthcare reforms, with tmost popular ideasbeing purchasinggroups, portability,and tort reform

p12. Conclusion

p14.About the

Report


3/18

Dean ClancyVice President o Public Policy, [email protected]

Kellyanne ConwayPresident, the polling [email protected]

Stephen SpikerSenior Project Director, the polling [email protected]

David KirbyVice President o Opinion Research, [email protected]

AuthorsFreedomWorks Health Care: Where Next

survey is part o an occasional series opolls that aim to capture voters attitudeson the role o government and key policyissues.

FreedomWorks is a grassroots servicecenter to a community o over 6 millionactivists dedicated to advancing the ideaso liberty and constitutionally-limitedgovernment.


4/18

1

Economy/Jobs 58%

Healh Care 46%

Gov Spending 33%

Educaion 14%

Social Issues 13%

Foreign Affairs 8%

Immigraion 8%

Shudown 7%

A new FreedomWorksnaionwide poll revealsha healh care is heAmerican publics No.1 concern afer he

economy and jobs and isfirmly on op o voersminds heading ino 2014.

The same poll inds last fallscontentious governmentshutdown has been largelyforgotten by voters, an event thataffected few Americans directlyand which has been swamped bynegative news surrounding therollout o the so-called AffordableCare Act, also known as the ACAor Obamacare.

Health care is a top threeconcern for both supportersand opponents o the health

Health Care a TopConcern, ShutdownIs Not

care law. Among women, theissue has narrowed the gap withthe economy and jobs as thetop issue; among seniors, it hasovertaken it.

The nationwide survey o 1,000registered voters, conducted forFreedomWorks by the pollingco., inc./WomanTrend in mid-December 2013, challenges theconventional wisdom on thisissue in several areas.

Obamacare Is Dragging ObamaDown.Health care appears to bethe biggest drag on the presidents

sagging approval rating. Manyvoters now view him through thelens o Obamacare negatively.

No Quie he Law o heLand. Americans are dissatisiedwith Obamacare so far, and arenot resigned to its permanence.

From he FocusGroup

My concern is with

the inequity that

[the health law]puts on the younger

generation.

Bruce R., 57-year-oldmoderate Democrat

They expect and want furtherhealth care reforms.

Voers Suppor a Delay. Voteracross the political spectrum including Obamacare supporter support a delay o the troubleprogram, in the wake o its


5/18

52

All Voers Men Women 18-29 30-39 40-49 50-64 65+ GOP IND DEM

Economy/Jobs 58% 59% 57% 63% 57% 61% 61% 46% 56% 53% 62%

Healh Care 46% 44% 48% 42% 42% 45% 46% 55% 53% 40% 44%

Gov Spending 33% 38% 29% 33% 30% 32% 33% 38% 48% 39% 17%

Educaion 14% 11% 16% 19% 18% 13% 13% 10% 5% 16% 20%

Social Issues 13% 11% 15% 13% 15% 16% 13% 9% 9% 13% 17%

Foreign Affairs 8% 9% 7% 10% 8% 5% 9% 7% 6% 8% 10%

Immigraion 8% 9% 6% 5% 9% 7% 6% 12% 8% 10% 6%

Shudown 7% 6% 8% 8% 5% 7% 8% 6% 2% 5% 12%

From he ollowing lis, wha are he wo mos imporan issues o you personally when considering or

whom o voe or Congress? (ACCEPT TWO CHOICES)

When considering how

o voe or Congress,

how imporan o your

voe is he issue o

healh care, specifically

he new healh care

law known as The

Affordable Care Ac or

Obamacare?

All Voers

Conserv GOP

Top 3 Is

No TopIssueFavor Obamacare

Mod/Lib GOP

Conserv/Mod DEM

Oppose Obamacare

Independens

Liberal DEM

70%

8

18%63%

35%

64%

23%

67%

32%

70%

30%

28%

66%34%

75%

22%

than three hours o intenseconversation about Obamacareand health care reform nota single person mentionedthe shutdown. (The groupincluded 17 middle-of-the-road

voters who reside in the D.C.area, including several federal

employees.)

Obamacare is a top issue headininto 2014, for both supportersand opponents, and is a drag onObamas job rating.

Shudown Forgoten.Votershave clearly put last fallsgovernment shutdown behindthem. Eight weeks after the high-proile defunding ight, while87 percent o those surveyedknew about the shutdown, only7 percent o voters named the

shutdown as a top concern.

This inding is conirmed bythe results o a FreedomWorksfocus group, also conducted inDecember, where during more

fumbled implementation andwidely reported negative impactson millions o families.

Repeal Beas Fix.

(And delay beats both.) A

majority of voters surveyed

would prefer to repealObamacare and start over

than try to fix it.


6/18

3

Do you avor or oppose he Afforda

Care Ac, also known as Obamacar

Favor 55%

17%

37%

37%

20%

43%

32%

Persuadable Vo

Augus 2013

December 2013

Oppose 35%

Do you hink you and your amily w

be beter off or worse off under he

healh reorm law, or do you hink iwill no make much o a difference?

Beter

Worse Off

No Difference

The more people learn about thelaw, the more concerned theybecome.

Obamacares remainingsuppor may be hin. O theminority (32 percent) o voterswho think it will make nodifference to them or theirfamily personally, only a slight

majority, 55 percent, support thelaw. To staunch the bleeding,the laws most ardent supportersmust persuade voters that it willactually beneit them personally.That will be a tough sell, in thewake o months o negativeheadlines detailing Obamacaresnumerous broken promises.

From double-digit premium hikesto millions o insurance-policycancellations to the disastrousrollout o the Obamacare website,Healthcare.gov its hard to seea positive development that canneutralize the fallout in votersminds by November.

We found that political partyidentiication is a more powerfulpredictor o ones positionon the health care law than

In erms o publicopinion, he roubledhealh care law hassuffered a seady andprecipious decline inavorabiliy since i wenrom on paper o inpracice.

A majority o Americans continueto disapprove o the law, but inrecent months there has beena marked rise in the number othose who say they will be worseoff under it.

55 percent of voters

currently say they oppose

the law a finding

consistent with most

national health care polls

conducted over the past

four years.

But since last summer, the shareo those who say they will be

worse off under Obamacare hasrisen by 6 points and is nowthe answer o a clear plurality.

Voters PessimisticAbout Obamacare

ideology, with liberal/moderatRepublicans lining up withconservative Republicansand conservative/moderateDemocrats lining up with liberDemocrats.


7/18

74

Disapprove

Disapprove

Approve

Approve

FavorObamacare

OpposeObamacare

Conserv GOP

Mod/Lib GOP

Independens

Cons/Mod DEM

Liberal DEM

4%

94%91% 89%

6% 9%

24%76%

29%67%

79%18%

89%8%

Do you approve

or disapprove

o he job

Barack Obama

is doing as

Presiden?

And would

you say Barack

Obama is doing

an excellen,

good, air, or

poor job as

Presiden?

Poor

Fair

Good

Excellen 12%

24%

16%

48%

lines. Even soft partisans aremoving towards their respectivbases on Obama. 94 percento conservative Republicansdisapprove; so do 76 percent omoderate/liberal RepublicansOn the other side, 89 percent oliberal Democrats approve; anso do 79 percent o conservativmoderate Democrats.

The bad news for Mr. Obama isthat he has lost the middle, with

just 29 percent o independentsapproving the job hes doing,

versus 67 percent disapproving

The Northeast is currentlythe presidents only bastion o

his performance is excellent;24 percent call it good. By

contrast, 15 percent describehis performance as fair, while48 percent say its poor.Overall, voters nationwide arefour times as likely to say thathis performance is poor thanexcellent.

Support is polarized along party

Approval o President Obamasperformance has fallen to just

43 percent, while disapprovalhas risen to 54 percent. And 45percent strongly disapprove.

Depending on how you ask thequestion, voters say Obama isdoing either a bad job or a reallybad job. When grading him,only 12 percent o voters say

Obama Has Lostthe MiddleDozens of national surveys, including this one, showthat the presidents approval ratings are under

water. This one shows that health care appears to

be the biggest drag. Many voters now view Obama

through the lens of Obamacare negatively.


8/18

8

support. O the nine geographicregions o the country,disapproval exceeds approval bydouble digits in ive and singledigits in two:

Mountain = -39 pointsSW Central = -52 points

NW Central = -14 pointsNE Central = -19 pointsSE Central = -18 pointsPaciic = -2 pointsSouth Atlantic = -1 point

In just two regions does thepresidents performance enjoymore approval than disapproval:

Mid-Atlantic = +19 pointsNew England = +3 points

(Note: The individual states ineach region are listed at the endo this report.)

Women and minorities arekeeping Mr. Obama aloat. While39 percent o men approve o his

job performance and 59 percentdisapprove, the respectiveigures for women are 47 percentapproving versus 49 percentdisapproving. For whites, theigures are 31 percent approve,67 percent disapprove. ForHispanics: 75 percent approve, 23

percent disapprove. For blacks:85 percent approve, 12 percentdisapprove.

Voers view o he Presidenjob perormance is verysrongly correlaed wih heirview o Obamacare.Among

those who favor the law, 91percent approve and just 6percent disapprove the job thepresident is doing. Among thoswho oppose Obamacare, thenumbers are very nearly thereverse: just 9 percent approve,while 89 percent disapprove ohis performance.

A solid majority of voters

including the laws

supporters support a

delay of the ACA.

Among all voters, 60 percentfavor a delay to make surethe law is fair and workablefor everyone. 64 percent oObamacare opponents support

a delay; so do 54 percent o thelaws supporters.

Partisan affiliation

makes no difference

on this question. More

than 50 percent of

Both Sides AgreeDelay Is Prudent

Republicans, Democrats

and independents all

support a delay. (The

figure for independents

58 percent.)

Similarly, a solid majority suppoa delay o the laws least populaprovision, the individual mand

to purchase health insurance,which took effect January 1.

The House has passed a one-yedelay o the ACA several times,only to see it die in the Senate aearn a veto threat from PresideObama. These results suggest ththe House has the publics back the delay issue.

From he FocusGroup

I like giving people

access to health

care, but not the

way they did it. It

should be repealed.

The idea of this

law is good, but the

practice needs some

major changes.

Wailun C., 29-year-oldwoman, Independent


9/18

96

Favor

Oppo

All Voers

All Voers

Favor

Obamacare

FavorObamacare

Oppose

Obamacare

OpposeObamacare

60%

57%

36%

49%

45%

63%

31%

54%

38%

64%

28%31%

The Obama Adminisraion has given

ou emporary waivers rom pars o

he healh care law o hundreds o

companies and labor unions, and has

also announced long-erm delays o a

leas 19 major provisionsincluding

he employer mandae and he small

business exchangewhich will delay

hese provisions or one year.

Do you favor or oppose delaying

the overall implementation of

Obamacare for one year, in order

to give Congress more time to

make sure the law is fair and

workable for everyone?

Support delaying the whole law

Support delaying the individual mandate


10/18

7

voters to be our best analogue fpersuadables on Obamacare those who arent completely onboard with repeal and replace,but are open to new ideas.)

We also tested ive messages

relating to speciic criticisms othe law:

Congressional hypocrisy

Medicare Par C cus

Ideniy hef / healhcare.goprivacy and securiy

Premium hikes

Insurance plan cancellaionsAll ive o these messages testwell. The most effective arethose relating to congressionalhypocrisy and Medicare Part Ccuts.

Dialing down on MedicarePart C, we also tested two

versions o a potential argumen

regarding the 500,000 seniorswho are losing their MedicarePart C coverage as a result oObamacare. The results show than argument emphasizing senioright to choose their plan is moeffective (61 percent o voters)than one focused on oppositionto government-run health car(51 percent).

merely ix the law holds for allsubcategories o voters. Even theuninsured say start over!

Persuadable voters, i.e., thosewho think the law will make nodifference to them personally,

were almost evenly split amongthese four messages. 50 percento them support getting rid o thelaw.

(Note on persuadables: Weasked respondents whetherthey and their family wouldbe better or worse of underObamacare, or i it wont makemuch o a difference. Those who

answered no difference arenot as likely to be hard critics oObamacare, but are not ardentdefenders either. This group hasmore self-identiied Democratsand liberals than average, butcontains a fair amount o self-identiied Republicans andconservatives. We consider these

Voters are more open thanever to replacing Obamacare, asopposed to ixing it.

Among tested messages regardingwhat to do with Obamacareoverall, start over and reform

health care and repeal andreplace Obamacare beat ix it orgive it a chance to work andrather decisively.

Voters said the start over andreform health care message madethem 34 percent more likely tovote for a hypothetical candidate,while the give it a chance towork message made them 16

percent lesslikely to do so.

While the usual partisan anddemographic patterns are visiblein the data (e.g., Republicansand Independents tending tofavor repeal, Democrats andminorities tending to favor ix),the preference against trying to

Test Messages:

Replace Beats Fix


11/18

118

ToalMoreLikely

ToalLess

Likely

NeMoreLikley

MucMoLike

We need o learn rom he lessons o he pas our years and sar over and

reormhealh care wih a new law ha allows people o keep heir docorand ocuses on policies mos Americans can agree wih, such as allowingincreased ax exempions or medical expenses and allowing paiens opurchase insurance across sae lines.

63% 29% +34% 38%

We need o repealObamacare and replace iwih marke-based soluionsha enable everyoneincluding people wih preexising medical condiionso obain he healh care hey need a a price hey can afford.

63% 31% +32% 44%

We need o fix Obamacareby keeping he hings ha work, such as is policyon pre exising condiions, finding a new soluion or problems like heindividual mandae and he increased governmen involvemen in healhcare.

46% 45% +1% 22%

We need o givehe Presidens healh care law a chanceo work. 40% 56% -16% 28%

ToalMoreLikely

ToalLess

Likely

Ne LessLikley

MuLe

Lik

Despie Congress passing he law ha resuls in some oher people losing heircare, Members o Congress sill keep heir healh benefis ha allow hem oreceive a 75% discoun or he healh care hey buy on he exchanges, a benefino available o any o heir consiuens.

11% 70% -59% 60

Par o he way ha he law pays or isel is by cuting $200 billion in undingor Medicare Par C, also known as Medicare Advanage, which is an opionunder which seniors can receive all o heir Medicare benefis, plus addiionalbenefis, rom a privae healh insurer, ofen a no addiional cos o hesenior. These cus mean over 500,000 seniors are losing heir healh plansand in some cases are also losing benefis or access o heir preerred docors,and will be orced o pick anoher privae insurance opion or rever o regularMedicare.

13% 69% -56% 57

Some people rying o sign up or healh care on he new exchanges are beingargeed by scam ariss, and he Deparmen o Healh and Human Servicesown Inspecor General said ha he healh care websie does no provideadequae proecion o privacy or he people ha sign up.

11% 67% -56% 56

In a sae-by-sae analysis, 41 saes and he Disric o Columbia saw averagehealh insurance premiums rise since he new law was passed. Premiumshave increased an average o 41% naionwide.

16% 65% -49% 54

As you may know, he Presiden repeaedly promised over a number o years,I you like your healh care, you can keep i. Afer 5.5 million Americans hadheir plans cancelled, he Presiden apologized ha wha he said was no rue.

19% 62% -43% 50

Consider a hypoheical campaign or Congress beween our candidaes. Im

going o read you our posiions on he new healh care law; or each one,

please ell me i ha saemen makes you more likely or less likely o voe or

ha candidae or Congress?

Does ___________________ make you more likely or less likely tosupport the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare?


12/18

9

Republican

Whie

Independen

No Insurance

Age: 65+

Men

Age: 30-39Gov Insur.

All Voers

Age: 40-49

Employer Insur.

Women

Age: 18-29

Age: 50-64

Sel-Purchase Insur.Hispanic

Black

Democra

85%

66%

65%

65%

61%

59%

58%58%

57%

57%

57%

56%

56%

55%

55%30%

28%

27%

GOVERNMENT-RUN:

Do you agree or disagree

wih he ollowing

saemen: I believeMedicare Advanage

was argeed or cus,

o help pay or he new

healh care law, because

proponens o he new

healh care law wan

o push seniors ino

he governmen-run

Medicare Pars A and B,

and away rom privaeinsurers.

Agree Disagree

51%

31%

61%

30%

SENIORS CHOICE:

Do you agree or disagree

wih he ollowing

saemen: I believei is wrong or he

governmen o orce

seniors away rom

plans hey have chosen,

wih heir docors and

specialized benefis ha

mee heir individual

needs, ino generic

Medicare in order o pay

or he new healh carelaw.

Medicare

Part-C Cuts

- Much Less

Likely

Oppose (Governmen-Run) Oppose (Seniors Choice


13/18

1310

The comparable igures forpersuadable voters (i.e., thosewho think the law will make ndifference to them personally)tend to fall somewhere betweenthe two foregoing sets o igure

Notably, majorities o votersfavor less involvement in healthcare by lawyers, insurers, and thgovernment.

One alternative voters

do not support: single-

payer. Among focus

group participants, thisidea found almost no

supporters, perhaps

because the idea of

government-run healt

care has taken on a bad

odor.

Among all voters, the mostpopular ideas are:

Individual / small businesspurchasing groups (78 percen)

Porabiliy (67 percen)

Tor reorm (64 percen)

Purchasing across sae lines(62 percen)

Reduce insurance companyinererence (62 percen)

100% ax deducions ormedical expenses (61 percen)

Among Obamacare supporters,the most popular ideas are:

Individual / small businesspurchasing groups (72 percen)

Porabiliy (59 percen)

Reduce insurance companyinererence (60 percen)

100% ax deducions or

medical expenses (58 percen)

Tor reorm (52 percen)

Purchasing across sae lines(48 percen)

Obamacare defenders

are open to alternative

health care reforms.

Both our focus group and surveyindings conirm that those

who call for repeal are expectedby voters to have their ownplan. The plan must be easy tounderstand, workable, and notbe seen as moving backwardon items people value, such ascovering people with preexistingmedical conditions.

We tested a large number

of possible health care

reform ideas that would

replace or supplement

Obamacare.

Voters Are Open toAlternatives


14/18

11

Mean % o 10 - Srongly Suppor % o 8-

Le individuals, small businesses, and oher groups join ogeher oge healh insurance a lower prices, he same way large businessesand labor unions do

8.6 56% 78%

Make healh insurance porable rom job o job by allowingworkers o buy individual coverage ha mees heir needs wihouhaving o pay a ax penaly

8.0 46% 67%

Ge lawyers ou o healh care by reorming medical malpraciceor law and discouraging rivolous lawsuis

7.8 47% 64%

Promoe compeiion by allowing consumers o buy healhinsurance across sae lines

7.7 44% 62%

Grealy reduce he abiliy o insurance companieso inerere inindividuals ree choice o insurance, docors, and herapies

7.7 42% 62%

Help make healh care more affordable by allowing all Americans

o receive a 100% ax deducion or legiimae medical expenses

7.7 42% 59%

Grealy reduce he abiliy o he governmeno inerere inindividuals ree choice o insurance, docors, and herapies

7.6 50% 63%

Le employees become consumers o healh care by allowing hemo pu money, ax ree, ino a Healh Savings Accoun (HSA) hahey own and conrol or healh expenses

7.3 39% 58%

Creae new ederal grans o saes ha reduce he number ouninsured in heir sae, puting he responsibiliy in he hands ohe sae governmens, which are closer o he people

6.1 20% 38%

Im going o read you some policy ideas or how o reorm healh care. For each one, please rae i on a scale o 1 o 10

wih 1 being do no suppor ha idea a all and 10 being srongly suppor ha idea.


15/18

1512

is neutralize it by changing thesubject.

Last years government shutdowight over Obamacare fundinghas dropped from votersminds, as GOP warnings aboutObamacares failings have beendramatically validated.

In the current environment, themidterm elections are likely tobe won by those candidates whturn out their motivated basesupporters, rather than those wfollow a more play it safe, runto the center strategy.

Finally, throughout the surveywe ind that on questions opolicy voters tend to favor lessgovernment and more freedom

willing to give Mr. Obamathe beneit o the doubt. Buttoday, the public no longerbelieves Obamacare can work aspromised.

As a result, voters across thespectrum think a delay is prudentand are also willing to considersensible alternatives that canplausibly improve health care,assuming no harm comes tothose with preexisting medicalconditions.

Democrats ind themselves onthe defensive on Obamacare,

and there appears to be noplausible way for them to makeit a winning issue by November.The best they can hope to do

The results o this surveystrongly suggest health care willbe a dominant perhaps thedominant issue in 2014.

Regardless o where voters standon Obamacare, they are veryconcerned about health care.

Health care is simply a bigissue for voters, especiallyamong women and seniors,and therefore one that the GOPshould be addressing head-on.

Obamacares rocky rollout,premium hikes, and insurance

cancellations have measurablydepressed support for the law and the president.

Previously, some voters were

Conclusion

Health

Care:WhereNext


16/18

13

plans, job cutbacks andeconomic uncertainty foremployers).

3) Figh or principledchanges o he law hawill help expedie isulimae repeal. Forexample:

Delay the individualmandate.

Apply the law fairly toMembers o Congress andtheir staff.

Repeal the laws built-in bailouts for the healthinsurance companies.

1) Keep fighing o ge rido he law.

Giving up on repeal nowwould be a mistake.

Replace beats ix, anddelay beats both.

2) Say on offense.

Continue aggressiveoversight o the lawsimplementation.

Educate the public on thelaws unfairness (waivers,exemptions, congressionalhypocrisy, burdens on youngpeople) and personal impacts(higher premiums, cancelled

In light of theseresults, our advice

for congressionalsupporters of a market-oriented, patient-centered approach is:press your advantage.

4) Naionalize hemiderm elecions wiha unified healh carereorm message:

Begin a nationalconversation on alternativideas for making health cabetter.

Coalesce around a commoplatform o bold, thoughtfand sensible health carereform ideas one thatpromotes less governmentand more freedom.


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1714

Here is a list o the nine regions, with theirrespective percentages o the U.S. populatioand their individual states:

5% | New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)

13% | Mid-Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA)

16% | East North Central (IN, IL, MI, OH, W

7% | West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NND, SD)

20% | South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NCSC, VA, WV)

6% | East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN)

11% | West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX)

7% | Mountain (AZ, CO ID, NM, MT, UT, NV, W

14% | Paciic (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA)

36 percent o respondents self-identiiedas Republican, while 39 percent self-identiied as Democrats and another 19percent considered themselves IndependenRespondents who initially answeredIndependent were asked i they lean in thedirection o either party, and i so, thoseleaners were included as Republican orDemocrat.

44 percent o respondents self-identiiedas conservative, while 29 percent calledthemselves moderate and 19 percent callethemselves liberal.

The polling company, inc./WomanTrend, on behal oFreedomWorks, conducted interviews for the nationwidesurvey o 1,000 registered voters between December15 and 18, 2013. The sample was drawn using lists oregistered voters. All interviews included 85 percentlandlines and 15 percent cell phone interviews. The dual-frame survey was conducted using live interviewers ata Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing facility.Sampling controls were used to ensure a proportionateand representative number o interviews across gender,

age, racial/ethnic, and regional lines. Survey data wereweighted by party self-identiication. The margin oerror (MoE) for this survey is 3.0% overall at the 95%conidence interval. MoEs for subgroups are larger.

Demographics

52 percent female, 48 percent male.

12 percent between the ages o 18-29, 15 percentbetween the ages o 33-39, 21 percent between the

ages o 40-49, 42 percent between the ages o 50-64,and 20 percent over the age o 65.

71 percent o the base survey were white/Caucasian,11 percent black, 11 percent Hispanic, 2 percentAsian, and 5 percent other.

A 9-region geographic break was used, separatingthe states into New England, Mid-Atlantic, SouthAtlantic, East and West North Central, East andWest South Central, Mountain, and Paciic. Usinga more traditional, four-way geographic split, 18percent o those surveyed were from the Northeast,23 percent from the Midwest, 37 percent from theSouth, and 21 percent from the West.

About the ReportMethodology


18/18

15

69 percent o respondents were married, 8 percent weredivorced. 1 percent separated, and 7percent widowed,while 13 percent were single and had never been married.

33 percent o respondents had children living with themat home, another 48 percent had children who are nolonger living at home, and 16 percent have never hadchildren.

10 percent o the base survey described their yearlyincome as below $25,000, 11 percent from $25,000 to$39,999, 11 percent from $40,000 to $49,999, 8 percentfrom $50,000 to $59,999, 7 percent from $60,000 to

$69,999, 5 percent from $70,000 to $74,999, 11 percentfrom $75,000 to $99,999, 11 percent from $100,000 to$149,999, and 9 percent as $150,000 and above.

43 percent o the base survey receive their healthinsurance through their employer, 35 percent receive itthrough a government program like Medicare, Medicaidor the VA, 12 percent have purchased it on their ownthrough the individual market, and 6 percent areuninsured.

Demographicscon.

heathcare -- where next?

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