What Does the Public Think about Proposition 72,
the Government Run Healthcare Proposal?
Survey and focus group research confirm that voters who understand the economic and personal implications of Proposition 72 will reject the government-run healthcare system it would create.
California voters remain concerned about the state's economy, budget deficit and taxes. They care about access to health insurance, but twice as many voters said the cost of healthcare is a bigger problem. Ninety-two percent of California voters have healthcare coverage.
Voters don't want state government making healthcare decisions for them. They reject the idea that they may have to give up their private coverage and be forced into a state-run plan where bureaucrats decide which doctors they can see and what procedures are covered. Most voters don't believe it is fair for low-income workers to pay for health insurance they may not want. The public doesn't trust the government to administer a healthcare system efficiently, and they're concerned about paying higher deductibles and co-payments for less coverage than they have now. They worry about the possibility of rationing or long waits for some procedures in the event the state program runs short of money.
California voters want solutions to reduce healthcare costs, and they understand that putting the government in charge of our healthcare system is not the answer. They do not agree with the premise that employers should bear the burden of solving the problems that exist with the availability of health insurance, and they understand that imposing that burden on employers could have severe economic consequences. If California is the only state in the nation with such a mandate, jobs will go elsewhere and our economy will suffer as a result.
Voters would like to do something to help the uninsured, but they are unwilling to suffer any negative consequences themselves in order to do so. Fewer than one in three voters said they would be willing to give up their private insurance to go into a government plan, and a similar minority would be willing to pay higher deductibles. By a significant margin, voters said they are not willing to pay higher taxes to cover the uninsured.
A fundamental dynamic of the debate about Prop 72 is that when voters realize it will impact them and is not just a plan to deal with the uninsured, they turn away from it. This explains why similar measures have been overwhelmingly defeated in California and every other state in which voters have considered this issue.
After voters hear the actual pro and con arguments that have been used in the debate on Prop 72, a strong majority of them say they will vote against the measure. The survey and focus group research as well as history and experience strongly suggests that this measure will be defeated once voters understand these key messages.
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