Poll watch: The view from California and the nation

A robust 71% of California voters believe the U.S. health care system needs significant overhaul or restructuring, according to last week’s Field Poll of Californians. This sentiment was undoubtedly was shaped by the last two years of public debate in the Golden State as policymakers and stakeholders wrestled with state-based health care reform. Even more striking is Californians’ support for a public plan to compete with private insurance: 85 percent of Californians favor a public health insurance option.

As California goes, so goes the nation. According to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, 85 percent of Americans said the "health care system needs to be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt," and 72 percent are strongly behind a government-run insurance plan option. The poll found that most Americans would be willing to pay higher taxes so everyone could have health insurance, and most said the government could do a better job of holding down health-care costs than the private sector.

It’s not hard to see why health care reform has become a priority for Americans. A new survey from Thomson Reuters’ Center for Healthcare Improvement, found that Americans are struggling to pay for healthcare, and about one quarter had trouble paying for treatments or services in the last year. And things could get worse: 40 percent of households were planning to delay medical care in the coming three months, and about 15 percent were planning to cut routine visits to the doctor.

Representatives of Consumers Union, the State Health and Human Services Agency, the Pacific Business Group on Health, and Center for Democracy and Technology faced off on national health reform; the federal infusion of billions in stimulus dollars for health care; and the dire California budget problems at a panel discussion last Friday, June 19 at the Commonwealth Club of California. You can watch a video of the conversation starting Friday June 26.

—Betsy Imholz, Special Projects Director, Consumers Union

To find out what we're doing to help fix the system, see our Guide to Health-Care Reform.

Comments

[eric]

The problem with this "debate" is that the WRONG thing is being argued over. This isn't the problem: "health care system needs to be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt," It's not the health care system, it's what funds it. What needs to be overhauled is the insurance system, the lawsuits (that drive the prices through the roof) and the like. The health care is better than any other country in the world.

But in this age, when most people don't even know what words mean, the debate is hardly ever over the correct thing.

[joann hogan]

i can't begin to tell you the hell i have been thru since august'08 but i will try - not insured - but worked 7 days a week for many years - couldn't afford to live in calif. so....i got sick at work - thought i had kidney stone -pain was the worst of have ever had in life - tried to go to private dr. he just looked @ me and said go to usc county general there is nothing i can do for you here- went to emergency - omg ! they really tried and did diagnois i had a very large mass attached to my kidney and were sure it was cancer - confirmed - stage 4 - my esperience in the public system was a hell i would never want for anyone - the surgeons were happy to operate - very enthusiastic - but after they were done - that was it - no pain manaagment after cutting me in half literaly- the sent me home on the 5th day with 17 regular strenth vicodan - i was in the er for the three days - they were trying to come up with the proper pain mgt system - they finally arrived at demoral which they do not prescribe so they found norco and vicodan back up would allow me to at least walk!!! i was livid- my family livid -drained- they had me come back to take out stiches and told me i had a stage 4 cancerous tumor the size of a football growing in me for a very long time and i was lucky the pain brought me in they neglected to tell me that i also had a mass on my right ovary until several visits later - by nov 08 they were concerned with growth but decided to just observe - by jan 09 i was in considerable pain but had pain meds to allow me to continue - they were trying to decide when & if i should get chemo - the trial they set me up for - they dragged thier feet so so long dropped me b-4 anything could be done - they were confusing and vague at best most of the time i was going - all dr's had a diff opinion and couldn't agree on anything except to do test and scans. they finally got me to a primary dr. in feb and his assessment was get my records and get the hell out of usc- i had medical but it wasn't a full funcitoning deal - some big deductable (1550.00) which i didn't have - im on dissability - havent worked since august '08 - thats another story - so i got my records and a friend who works at cedars went to the derm ceo and begged for him to do something for the remaining problem - ovary mass - possible cancer - they got on it immediatly and i just got out of the hospital on the 18th of june - i was able to get the mass and ovaries and tubes out with scopes - two weeks before we know for sure - cancer or not - i am jumping around with the progression of my story because it is so fresh in my mind and i don't want to leave out any of the details - i would have to write for another hour - the experience at the usc hospital was a near death experience the nurses for the most part were horrible - is that because it's county and they can get away with it ?? 75% of them should not be in the nursing field - they were abusive and evil felt like they shouldn't have to help a blind person - yes blind - in my ward the whole experience was the worst time in my life and if it weren' for my family and friends i would be dead - because most of those people don't even speak english and even if the nurses spoke spanish they were abusive beyond my understanding. - i would love to be part of a forum to tell this story - there are so many facets i am skipping - someone should know ! or do they already - i am only one person and when i go back for tests there are loads of people who don't know how to look up information to see what they are entitled to in care - it was a sad experienc - brings to mind katrina - we really aren't prepared for crisis of any kind - are we - anyway it's good to have someone listen to part of this disaster - or mayb not - thank you for the oppurtunity to add my small part to this very big problem