KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
The Gender of Politics:How (And How Much) Will Women Influence Election 2000?
Tuesday, April 18th9:30 am – 11:15 amBroadway Millennium Hotel44th and Broadway, New York City
9:30 am Registration
9:40 am Welcome/Introductions
Tina Hoff, Director of Public Health Information and Communications, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
9:45 am The Gender of Politics: How (And How Much) Will Women Influence Election 2000?
Who Is the “Woman Voter?” What Issues Does “She” Care About?
Mollyann Brodie, PhD, Vice President and Director of Public Opinion and Media Research, Kaiser Family Foundation, will give an overview of how pollsters identify “women voters” and the issues women care about this year, including health care.
Election 2000 Predictions: What Do Women Want? How Will They Get It?
Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, CEO and President, The Polling Company, has advised Republican candidates including Jack Kemp, Newt Gingrich, and former Vice President Dan Quayle. She has served as a political analyst for CNN and appears as a commentator on ABC’s Good Morning America, Fox News, and MSNBC. Her corporate clients include Philip Morris, The Wall Street Journal, and Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories.
Anna Greenberg, PhD, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, is working on a long-term research project on gender and politics and consulting to iVillage.com on its election-related polling.
Where Are the Women Candidates? What Happened to “Women’s Issues?” And What About Abortion?
Kelli Conlin, Executive Director, NARAL/New York, will discuss the current crop of women candidates; whether female officeholders are “better” for women; and the findings of her group’s “women’s monitor.”
Voter Education and Outreach: How Can You Learn More About the Issues? The Candidates?
Timothy F. Mooney, Vice President, Political Affairs, Voter.com, will talk about the range of places voters can go for more information about issues and the candidates. He will also discuss new voter education and outreach efforts.
The debate over how to expand health insurance coverage to the over 44 million Americans without it continues to be one of the most challenging issues facing policymakers today. This Public Opinion Update summarizes key findings from several surveys conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health and a new survey conducted by the Foundation in conjunction with the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. The surveys show that the public is concerned about the problem of the uninsured, but that solutions remain elusive because of a lack of public consensus on the best approach and the unwillingness of a sizeable part of the public to pay for solutions.
THE PUBLIC IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE PROBLEM
In a recent survey, 28% of registered voters cited health care as a top issue influencing their vote. Which health care issues are most on the public s mind? Several concerns are closely bunched. Nearly half (47%) of Americans say providing insurance coverage for people who are currently uninsured will be “very important” in deciding their vote for President in 2000, and an additional 33% say the issue will be “somewhat important.” Slightly more people ranked making Medicare financially sound (52%) and providing coverage for prescription medicines for the elderly (51%) as “very important.” (Figure 1)
Concern over insurance coverage also exists on a personal level. In January, 2000, more than half (53%) of the public reported that they personally knew someone who doesn’t have health insurance, and 57% of insured Americans said they were “very” or “somewhat concerned” that they might not have health insurance for others in their family.
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE UNINSURED
The majority of Americans (60%) realize that the number of Americans without health insurance has been increasing, but the public s knowledge about who the uninsured are is limited. The majority of the public (57%) incorrectly say that more of the uninsured are unemployed or from families where people are unemployed (39%) (Figure 2). There has been little improvement in public knowledge. In 1996, half the public (50%) incorrectly believed that the uninsured are more likely to come from unemployed families.
On the other hand, Americans recognize many, though not all, of the troubles the uninsured have getting care and the potential health consequences the uninsured face as a result. Around 7 in 10 Americans know that the uninsured are less likely than the insured to have had a recent physician visit (74%) or to have a regular source where they get medical care (68%), and 65% of Americans know the uninsured are more likely than the insured to put off or postpone seeking medical care. More than 6 in 10 Americans know that the uninsured are less likely than the insured to get needed medical care (64%) or use preventive health services (62%). However, over half of Americans (52%) do not realize that the uninsured are more likely than the insured to have hospital or emergency room visits for basic care.
POLICY PREFERENCES
While the public supports action to extend coverage, there is little agreement on how to solve the problem. In January 2000, only 11% of the public said that the government should keep things the way they are now rather than do something to help people who don’t have health insurance. However, Americans are divided between whether the government should make “a limited effort to provide health insurance for some of the uninsured which would not require a tax increase” (43%) or “a major effort to provide health insurance for nearly all uninsured Americans which would require a tax increase” (39%).
A majority of Americans favor the status quo when asked to chose between maintaining the current employment based health insurance system, or switching to a system of tax credits or subsidies for individuals. The majority (54%) favor building on the current system in which employers contribute to their employees health insurance and the government covers the cost of insurance for the poor and unemployed, but 39% favor switching to a system in which all individuals would buy their own health insurance but would receive a tax credit or subsidy.
While the public expresses a high level of support for a broad range of policy options that would provide insurance for the uninsured, with over half of Americans favoring all but one option (Table 1), when asked to choose the best option, no single one attracts widespread support.
TABLE 1
Percent Who Favor When Asked about Each Option
Percent Who Chose It When Forced to Pick the Best Option
Expanding state government programs for low-income people, such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, to provide coverage for people without health insurance
78
21
A new law that would require businesses to offer private health insurance for their employees
77
21
A new law that would offer uninsured Americans income tax deductions, tax credits, or other financial assistance to help them purchase private health insurance on their own
74
20
Expanding Medicare to cover people under age 65 who do not have health insurance
67
14
A national health plan, financed by taxpayers, in which all Americans would get their insurance from a single government plan
44
21
Source: NewsHour with Jim Lehrer/Kaiser Family Foundation National Survey on the Uninsured, 2000
WILLINGNESS TO PAY
Willingness to pay remains one of the toughest obstacles to providing insurance coverage for the uninsured. Fifty-three percent of Americans say they are willing to pay a substantial amount more per month in higher premiums or taxes to cover the uninsured (41% were willing to pay $50 per month more and another 12% were willing to pay $30). However, 46% were willing to pay only $5 a month more (26%) or not willing to pay anything more (20%).
Foundation surveys over several years show that the public has remained closely divided in their willingness to pay. In 1993, 50% said they would support a 3% national sales tax on purchases to pay for health coverage for the uninsured, but 40% said they would oppose such a tax. Similarly, in 1996, 47% of Americans said they were willing to pay more in health insurance premiums or higher taxes to increase the number of Americans with health care coverage, but 47% said they were not willing to pay. The unwillingness to pay more by a sizeable share of the public continues to present an obstacle to comprehensive solutions and suggests that incremental approaches will continue to be favored.
FACTS ABOUT THE UNINSURED
Over 44 million Americans are uninsured over 18% of the total nonelderly population.
The uninsured are predominantly workers and their families, many of whom have low incomes. Over 8 in 10 uninsured Americans are workers or dependents of workers. The large majority (74%) of the uninsured are in families with at least one full-time worker, and most of these workers are in permanent positions.
Over half (59%) of uninsured Americans have been without insurance for more than two years.
Over half of the uninsured (56%) have low incomes, making less than 200% of the federal poverty level ($32,900 for a family of four in 1998).
While the majority (52%) of the uninsured are White, Hispanics (25%) and African Americans (17%) are over-represented among the uninsured population.
Over one-third (39%) of uninsured adults say they have postponed care in the past year 12% for a “very serious” condition because they could not afford it. Eighteen percent of uninsured adults say they had a health condition that got worse because they postponed seeking care.
Thirty-nine percent of the uninsured skipped a recommended medical test or treatment in the last year, and 30% did not fill a prescription because of the cost.
The uninsured also face greater financial burdens than the insured, for example, the uninsured are more likely than the insured to have been contacted by a collection agency about unpaid medical bills (39% vs. 27%).
Source: Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
Unless otherwise noted, trends used in this Public Opinion Update are from the following surveys conducted by the Kaiser/Harvard School of Public Health Program on The Public and Health Policy; a joint program of the Kaiser Family Foundation and Dr. Robert Blendon and his research team from the Harvard School of Public Health: November, 1991, Survey of Voters in the Pennsylvania Senate Election (11/91); June, 1996, Survey of Americans on Health Policy (#1166) (7/96); November, 1996, Post-Election Survey of Voters 1997 Health Care Agenda (#1216) (1/97); November, 1998, Post-Election Survey:Priorities for the 106th Congress (#1452) (1/99); November, 1999, NationalSurvey on Health Care and the 2000 Elections (#1572) (1/00). Other surveys include the January, 2000 NewsHour with Jim Lehrer/Kaiser Family Foundation National Survey on the Uninsured (#3013) (4/00). For more information on the uninsured and analysis of policy proposals to cover them, or for complete question wordings, margins of error or other analysis, please contact us or look for our information on the web at http://www.kff.org. To request additional free copies of this publication, contact our Publications Request Line at 1-800-656-4533 (ask for document #3006).
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Campaign 1992 was dubbed “The Year of the Woman” because more female candidates ran that year than any other in U.S. history. In 1996, “Soccer Moms” grabbed headlines as the group that candidates needed to win. What role will women have in 2000? How will Election 2000 be remembered? Who is the “woman voter?” What issues does “she” care about? How will women affect the 2000 campaign?
A panel of experts, including Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, President, The Polling Company, Anna Greenberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, Kelli M. Conlin, Executive Director, New York State affiliate of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, Timothy F. Mooney, Vice President, Political Affairs, Voter.com, and Mollyann Brodie, Ph.D., Vice President and Director for Public Opinion & Media Research, Kaiser Family Foundation, discussed Election 2000 predictions, “women’s issues,” and how women can become “informed” voters at an Emerging Issues in Reproductive Health Briefing on April 18, 2000.
This issue brief, prepared for the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Capitol Hill Briefing Series on HIV/AIDS, provides an overview of AIDS cases and trends in the United States since the beginning of the epidemic, with particular attention to the impact of the epidemic on racial and ethnic minority Americans, women, and young people. In addition, the issue brief presents an overview of the federal response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including federal spending and major HIV/AIDS-related laws and initiatives.
Mollyann Brodie is Vice President, Director of Public Opinion and Media Research at the Kaiser Family Foundation. She directs a variety of public knowledge and survey-related projects. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Brodie was a Health Policy Fellow and Assistant Director of the Program on Public Opinion and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, where she co-edited Volume IV of the series on The Future of American Health Care. Her research efforts focus on public opinion and knowledge and the roleof political institutions in health policy. She has recently been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Health Affairs, and the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.
Dr. Brodie received her Ph.D. in Health Policy from Harvard University, holds a Master of Science degree in Health Policy and Management from Harvard’s School of Public Health, and a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Previously, Dr. Brodie worked as a health policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of Evaluation and Inspection, and performed research at the RAND Corporation.
Kellyanne Fitzpatrick is CEO and President of the polling company
,a political consulting and public affairs research firm founded in 1995, with offices in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, California.The polling company
specializes in quantitative and qualitative research and analysis, and provides strategic counsel for political, corporate and public affairs clients. During her 12-year polling career, she has advised clients in nearly all 50 states, including Jack Kemp, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) and former Vice President Dan Quayle. She has directed hundreds of demographic and attitudinal survey projects for statewide and congressional political races, trade associations, and Fortune 100 companies, measuring voter attitudes, client satisfaction, and consumer opinions.
Ms. Fitzpatrick began her polling career as Political Research Assistant at The Wirthlin Group, pollster to President Ronald Reagan. Prior to forming the polling company
, she was Corporate Counsel and Senior Account Executive at The Luntz Research Companies, a firm known for its work on the Republican Contract With America. Ms. Fitzpatrick is a magna cum laude graduate of Trinity College in Washington, D.C., where she earned a B.A. in political science, studied at Oxford University, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1992, Ms. Fitzpatrick was awarded a law degree with honors from the George Washington University Law Center, and for four years taught there as Adjunct Professor of Legal Research and Oral Advocacy.
Anna Greenberg, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Dr. Greenberg is also Director of Opinion Research for interSurvey, a Web-based survey research firm based in Menlo Park, California. Working with interSurvey, she is the director of polling for the women’s electorate project for iVillage.com, a women’s internet network. Additionally, Dr. Greenberg is a visiting scholar at the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, located in Washington, D.C., where she is working on a project on gender and politics.
Dr. Greenberg received her B.A., cum laude, from Cornell University, Department of Government, and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, Department of Political Science. She is currently working on a book called Divine Inspiration: Faith, Congregations and American Politics.
Tina Hoff is Director of Public Health Information and Communication for the Media and Public Education Program at the Kaiser Family Foundation. She oversees the release of Foundation-commissioned research and several communications-related programs, including an ongoing media briefing series on reproductive health issues and the Talking with Kids campaign. She is involved with many of the Foundation’s special partnerships focusing on public education, including several joint collaborations with leading women’s and teen magazines and other media, including Glamour, Seventeen, YM, Family Circle, Essence, Latina, and the Los Angeles Times. At the Foundation, Ms. Hoff also has worked on several studies of media coverage of health and reproductive health issues, including content analyses of the sexual and reproductive health coverage in women’s, men’s, teen, and other specialty magazines; a 10-year study of news coverage of HIV/AIDS; the sexual content on television’s family hour; and the sexual content on television soap operas and talk shows. Ms. Hoff joined the Foundation in 1994.
Previously, Ms. Hoff worked for a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm, The Widmeyer-Baker Group, representing primarily non-profit organizations focused on health care and women’s and children’s issues. She received a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia.
Timothy F. Mooney serves as Vice President of Political Affairs of Voter.com. He is a national political consultant who has worked in 200 electoral campaigns in 37 states. He is a former political director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s largest and top-ranked business organization. Mr. Mooney was a founding partner of the Southwest Policy Group, a political consulting firm specializing in ballot initiative and referendum campaigns and grassroots lobbying. He was educated at Pepperdine University and at Harvard University.
Kelli Conlin has served as the Executive Director of the New York Stateaffiliate of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League fornine years. During her tenure, Ms. Conlin has become one of the mostinfluential political voices in the state. NARAL/New York is widely viewed asa powerful political organization, both electorally and legislatively. Ms. Conlinhas also developed critically important programs to address teh lack of accessto reproductive health access in underserved areas, through the organization’sInstitute for Reproductive Health Access.
Ms. Conlin holds a Master of Science in Journalism from NorthwesternUniversity, and a Bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s College of Notre Dame,Indiana. Before Joining the staff of NARAL/New York, she worked as aneditor for Outside Magazine, served as President of NOW in New York City,and was Director of Public Information at the New York City CampaignFinance Board.
In June, 1999, the Supreme Court rule in Olmstead v L.C. that states were required to provide services to persons with disabilities in community settings rather than institutions, if certain conditions were met. This Policy Brief provides an overview of the Olmstead case, including the facts, the court ruling, and the disposition of the case. In addition, the brief describes the issues surrounding implementation and the implications this ruling could have for state Medicaid programs.
In December, the President signed into law the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, which includes provisions that will give states additional options for extending Medicaid coverage to working disabled individuals. This memo presents an overview of the eligibility options offered under the new legislation (Publication #2187). A related publication, Medicaid Eligiblity for Individuals with Disabilities (Publication #2150), provides a general overview of federal Medicaid eligibility policy for the low-income disabled population.
This report, the fourth in an annual series, provides an overview of the status of state-administered AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs). ADAPs, authorized under Title II of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, provide HIV/AIDS-related prescription drugs to low income, uninsured and underinsured individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. For more information on the series see the National ADAP Monitoring Project page.
