Poll Shows Americans Not in Favor of Mandatory Health Insurance, But Do Want a Return on Taxpayer Funded Medical Innovation

Marketwatch reports that a recent poll conducted by Consumer Watchdog shows that“Less than 15% of U.S. voters support, and 53% oppose, a proposal pushed by health insurers requiring every American to provide proof of private health insurance or face tax penalties or other fines.” A mandatory individual health insurance requirement is one of the provisions included in the recently unveiled AHIP health care reform proposal. Earlier in the week, in The American Spectator, Jeff Emanuel likened AHIP’s Proposal to an automobile manufacturer bailout which required every American to buy a car. See Health Reform Watch post here.

Marketwatch reports that the poll also found that “by just under a two-to-one margin voters favor requiring a return on taxpayer-funded research that leads to new medical treatments or prescription drugs.”

Marketwatch noted that “The issue is particularly important as President-elect Obama is proposing doubling research funding from the National Institutes of Health. He is also expected to end the Bush Administration's ban on federal fund of most embryonic stem cell research.” Read full article here.