False Health Care Memes Frighten Seniors

by: saindenver

Thu Jul 29, 2010 at 10:12:35 AM MST

[L]arge shares of seniors mistakenly believe the law includes provisions that cut some previously universal Medicare benefits and creates "death panels."  Half of seniors (50%) say the law will cut benefits that were previously provided to all people on Medicare, and more than a third (36%) incorrectly believe the law will "allow a government panel to make decisions about end-of-life care for people on Medicare."

Sadly, those on or close to Medicare respond

1. 52% are aware that the new law will result in premium increases for some higher income Medicare beneficiaries
   
2. 50% know that HCR will gradually close Medicare's "doughnut hole"
   
3. 33% know the law will eliminate Medicare's co-pays and deductibles for some preventive services.?
   
4. Despite Medicare's actuaries predicting that the health reform law will extend the life of the Medicare Part A Trust Fund by 12 years (from 2017 to 2029), only 14 percent of seniors know this and nearly half (45%) of seniors think the health reform law will weaken the financial condition of the fund.?
   

Beyond that sad response, is some better news:

Half the public (50%) now expresses a favorable view of the law, while 35 percent say they have an unfavorable opinion (down from 41% in June).??

If you dig deeper, you will find:

Among Republicans, opposition to the law remained steady at 69 percent, but the intensity of that opposition ticked upward. Fifty-three percent of Republicans said they had a "very unfavorable" opinion of the law this month, up from 50 percent in June. Independents, who can tip the balance in elections, split 48 percent to 37 percent in favor, compared with 49 percent to 41 percent a month earlier. The intensity of opinion among this group showed little change; just less than a fifth expressed a very favorable view, and just more than a quarter expressed a very unfavorable view.

We need to work to turn this around for this key voting segment, otherwise we will see both opposition to Colorado reform as well as a Palin-Boehner-McConnell cessation and repeal for any reform.  It starts with one voter at a time. Remind those you know why they should vote and why it's important.