Thaindian News

Washington, Mar 23(ANI): A new poll has found that most Americans believe both Republicans and Democrats were fighting over health care reform for political reasons and not for the policy.

According to a CBS News Poll, when asked why Democrats worked to pass a health care bill, 57 percent people said “mostly political reasons”, and just 35 percent said it was because Democrats think the bill is good policy.

Sixty-one percent people said Republicans were acting on the basis of political concerns, while 29 percent said Republicans truly believed the bill was bad policy.

The poll was taken from March 18-21, before the bill was passed the House on Sunday.

It also revealed that nearly half of Americans said they disapproved of the health care bill, while 37 percent had offered their approval.

The poll further found that Americans were not optimistic about the impact the bill will have.

About 29 percent people said reforms in the bill will make the health care system better, while 34 percent said they would make the system worse. Twenty-eight percent said they weren’t sure, while eight percent predicted no change.

The US Congress approved a legislation over the nation’s health care system along the lines proposed by US President Barack Obama that would provide medical coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

The bill cleared the House on a 219-212 vote, with Republicans unanimous in opposition.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the health care bill would require most Americans to have health insurance, would add 16 million people to the Medicaid rolls and would subsidize private coverage for low- and middle-income people, at a cost to the government of 938 billion dollars over 10 years.

It would also require many employers to offer coverage to employees or pay a penalty.

The budget office estimates that the bill would provide coverage to 32 million uninsured people, but still leave 23 million uninsured in 2019. (ANI)