For Immediate Release: Contacts: Carol Eberly
October 28, 2009 (Radio) 202-349-5882 or
[email protected]
(TV & Print) Kate Pomeroy
202-631-6704 or
[email protected]
JUST RELEASED
NEW POLL: HEALTHCARE THROUGH WOMEN’S EYES
What Women Want, Think Should Be Done and at What Cost?
(Washington, DC) – A new poll released Wednesday by the Independent Women’s Forum shows that only 16% of women believe that health care should be Congress’s top priority and that a majority (51%) is unsatisfied with what they have read, seen, or heard about the proposals being considered today. The poll, conducted by WomanTrend, a division of the polling companyTM inc., surveyed 800 women registered to vote and was conducted between October 19-25, 2009.
In this poll, women were given the opportunity to answer, in an open-ended fashion, what questions or advice they have for their Members of Congress and for the President on health care. Concerns about paying for reform, controlling costs, eligibility, and what is included and excluded from the actual legislative proposals dominated as some of the central “themes” for women.
Key findings:
• Government is not the solution: 61% of women think the private sector does a better job of providing choice in health care.
• Change for thee, but not for me: 75% want few to no changes to their own healthcare (40% — be modified, but mostly left as is;
35% — be left as-is).
• No egg timers: 43% of women say that Congress and the President should enact healthcare reform “only when quality legislation is developed, even if it means there is no deadline.” Less than three in ten think it needs to happen by the end of the year.
• Too expensive: Only 10% say that $1 trillion or more should be spent on health care reform. Most put the acceptable amounts in the thousands (16%), millions (24%), or billions (16%).
• Concerns with waste: 77% say government spends money in a mostly inefficient way and 55% believe CBO projections underestimate how much will ultimately be spent on health care reform.
The Independent Women’s Forum commissioned this poll to gain a better understanding of women’s attitudes toward the health care system and proposed reform, and how they will affect women’s health care choices.
This poll and the executive summary can be found at www.iwf.org.
###
For more information about this survey, or to schedule an interview, please call Carol Eberly at 202-349-5882/[email protected] or Kate Pomeroy at 202-631-6704/[email protected]
The Independent Women’s Forum is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) research and educational institution. Founded in 1992, IWF focuses on issues of concern to women, men, and families. Our mission is to rebuild civil society by advancing economic liberty, personal responsibility, and political freedom.