Kaiser Health Tracking Poll -- July 2011

Health care, and particularly Medicare and Medicaid, continue to play a role in the national discussion over the federal budget deficit. In the midst of this debate, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking poll finds that Americans of all political stripes see a role for both spending reductions and tax increases as part of an overall deficit reduction strategy. Still, few are willing to support major spending reductions in Medicare, and a large majority believes the country’s budgetary problems can be addressed without cutting Medicare spending. The ongoing debate about the deficit doesn’t appear to have had much impact on the public’s overall opinion of the health reform law, which remains divided this month. Despite the fact that consumer protections were one of the least controversial and most widely supported provisions of the ACA, just 20 percent of Americans think the law will lead to improvements in consumer protections for the average person with health insurance. On the other hand, half expect access to care for the uninsured to get better under the law.

The July poll is the latest in a series designed and analyzed by the Foundation’s public opinion research team.

Findings (.pdf)

Chartpack (.pdf)

Toplines (.pdf)