How Popular Is The Idea Of Changing Medicare To A Defined Contribution Plan? April 1, 2011 Poll Finding In March 2011, House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan released his “Path to Prosperity” budget plan, which included a proposal to change Medicare from a defined benefit program into one in which the government pays a specific amount towards the cost of private health insurance for each enrollee. Surveys conducted…
Enrollment Surge Did Not Change Public’s Views on the Affordable Care Act April 29, 2014 News Release Most Common Reason for Remaining Uninsured is Not Being Able to Find an Affordable Plan; Just 7 Percent Would Rather Pay a Fine than Pay for Coverage As the Supreme Court Considers Challenge, a Majority Supports the Law’s Requirements for Contraceptive Coverage, Including for Employers with Religious Objections Despite the…
Visualizing Health Policy: Public Opinion At The End of the First Open Enrollment Period May 20, 2014 Infographic This Visualizing Health Policy infographic takes a look at public opinion of the Affordable Care Act at the end of the first enrollment period, including the persistent deep partisan divisions, the sources of people’s impressions, and the favorable views towards many of the ACA’s least well-known provisions. Further, more people want…
What’s Driving the GOP Health Plan May 30, 2014 Perspective This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on May 30, 2014. Conservative House Republicans are pushing for a vote on a GOP health-care plan, presumably to appeal to their base, to give GOP candidates health reform ideas to talk about on the campaign trail and to show that…
Majority of the Public Say They Haven’t Been Affected By the Health Reform Law May 30, 2014 News Release Democrats More Likely to Say They Have Been Helped By the Law, Republicans More Likely to Say They Have Been Hurt Republican Voters Want ACA Debate to Continue, Democrats Would Rather Hear Candidates Talk About Issues Like Jobs, Independents Are More Split More than four years after the Affordable Care…
How Much Political Coverage of the Health-Care Law Is Too Much? June 5, 2014 Perspective This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on June 5, 2014. With primaries underway and the midterms approaching, coverage of the Affordable Care Act will increasingly focus on politics. Many political reporters may take temporary control of the health-care beat during the leadup to November. News organizations should…
Sen. Mark Pryor Spotlights the Health Law’s Rx for Pre-Existing Illnesses August 21, 2014 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains why Senator Mark Pryor’s new campaign ad features the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions, the somewhat forgotten “mega provision” of the law. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
Republicans Have an Edge in Voter Enthusiasm Heading Into Fall, But Few Cite ACA as Motivating Factor September 9, 2014 News Release Anti-Obamacare Ads Reaching Most Voters in Competitive Senate Races Health Care Ranks Among Several Second-Tier Issues for Voters in Midterm Elections Behind the Economy The latest Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll finds Republicans with a modest edge in terms of voter enthusiasm, but the Affordable Care Act, also called…