Senior Citizens Lead Decline in Opposition to
National Health Care Reform
New Associated Press poll finds opposition by seniors
dropped from 59 to 42 percent in a month; nation now evenly split
Oct. 7, 2009 The Associated Press is reporting a
new poll shows a significant change in attitude about health care
reform by senior citizens. Their opposition has dropped by 16 percentage
points from 59% in September to 43% in October.
The latest Associated Press-GfK poll finds
Americans still divided over the complex legislation that Democrats are
advancing in Congress.
The public is split 40-40 on supporting or
opposing the health care legislation, the AP reports.
An even split is welcome news for Democrats, a
sharp improvement from September, when 49 percent of Americans said they
opposed the congressional proposals and just 34 percent supported them,
report AP writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and
Trevor Tompson.
"It's very significant that there's an upturn in
support for the plans because after August there was a sense that the
whole effort was beginning to decline and would not come back in terms
of public support," Robert Blendon, a Harvard University professor who
tracks American public opinion on health care, told the AP reporters.
The AP report says, The poll found that 68 percent
of Democrats support the congressional plans, up from 57 percent in
early September. Opposition among independents plunged from 51 percent
to 36 percent. However, only 29 percent of independents currently
support the plans in Congress.
Oct. 7, 2009 The Associated Press is reporting a
new poll shows a significant change in attitude about health care
reform by senior citizens. Their opposition has dropped by 16 percentage
points from 59% in September to 43% in October. 