The FINANCIAL -- Most voters think it’s possible to cut Medicare costs without damaging
the existing quality of care but believe it can’t be done unless the
overall cost of health care in America comes down.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of Likely U.S. Voters feel it is possible to reduce the cost of Medicare without hurting the quality of health care for senior citizens. Just 20% disagree and think the quality of care will suffer if Medicare costs are reduced. Seventeen percent (17%) are not sure.
Voters over the age of 50 are slightly more skeptical than those who are younger that the cost of Medicare can be reduced without hurting the quality of care.
But 54% of all voters believe it is necessary to reduce the cost of health care services in the United States in order to reduce the cost of Medicare. Thirty percent (30%) think changing Medicare is what is necessary to bring the program’s costs down.
While voters have said for years that they favor cutting the size of the federal budget, only recently have a majority of voters come to understand that most of the budget goes to national defense, Medicare and Social Security. But 64% say any proposed changes in either Social Security or Medicare should be submitted to the American people for a vote before they can become law.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 21, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Most voters consider it essential for taxes to fund all promised Social Security and Medicare benefits and understand that the current level of taxation is not enough to keep those promises. Voters are more conflicted when ask about the need to raise taxes to keep the two federal retirement programs going the way they are now.
Voters are closely divided over whether increasing taxes or raising the eligibility age is the best way to keep the government’s retirement programs financially afloat.
Male voters feel much more strongly than female voters that it’s possible to reduce Medicare costs without hurting the quality of care for seniors. Whites and voters of other races agree more than blacks do.
Republicans and voters not affiliated with either of the major parties believe more than Democrats that Medicare cost-cutting is possible without hurting care. But most voters feel this way across all demographic categories.
While 65% of Democrats and 53% of unaffiliated voters say that reducing Medicare costs requires a reduction in overall health care costs nationally, Republicans are almost evenly divided on this question.
Voters over 50 are less convinced than those who are younger that a reduction in health care costs in general is necessary.
Medicare and Social Security are big helps to most retired Americans, but one-third of voters don’t care much for either of the long-standing government programs.
Most voters still want to repeal the national health care law and continue to believe it will force up health care costs.
Related Stories
