Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 24, 1993 TAG: 9303240182
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
EVEN MORE TAXES BACKED FOR HEALTH CARE, POLL SAYS
A new nationwide public opinion survey has found strong support for the likely elements of President Clinton's health care reform agenda, and 58 percent of the respondents expressed a willingness to pay a 3 percent national sales tax to help finance coverage for the 37 million uninsured Americans.According to the poll, released Tuesday by the California-based Kaiser Family Foundation and Louis Harris and Associates, the president is likely to enjoy widespread public support for his overhaul agenda upon its introduction in early May.
"The burden is now on those who would oppose the president's plan to undo that support," said Drew E. Altman, president of Kaiser, an independent health care research foundation.
The telephone poll of 1,255 adults was conducted from March 3-10, and has a 3 percent margin of error. It found:
82 percent support a government mandate that employers provide insurance to workers.
87 percent back government-imposed limits on insurance premiums.
86 percent endorse the creation of large consumer purchasing cooperatives to bargain with medical providers for the best quality and lowest prices.
76 percent favor short-term price controls on doctors, hospitals and drug companies.
Fifty-eight percent of those polled responded positively when asked: "Would you support/oppose a 3 percent national sales tax on purchases other than food and medical care to move quickly to pay for health insurance for the uninsured?" Forty percent responded negatively, and 2 percent answered "not sure."
President Clinton indicated Tuesday that the administration hopes to finance a major portion of its health care package with new taxes on hospitals, insurance companies and other health care providers.
Reform "will save massive amounts of money immediately to some of the health care providers," Clinton said at his White House news conference. "I will not ask the American people to pay for a health care plan until the people who . . . will be making money out of the changes that we propose are asked to give back some of the money they will make."
The president's comments provided the clearest statement so far of how the administration hopes to finance its health plan. Administration advisers hope that aiming taxes at health care providers will prove far more palatable politically than directly taxing voters. The idea is certain to spark strong opposition from the targets of the new taxes.