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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > October > 07
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
69 percent of Ohioans support health care public option
Despite angry speeches at town hall meetings and congressional resistance, 69 percent of Ohioans say a public option would improve the nation’s overall health care system, according to a new poll.
The Fall 2009 Ohio Health Issues Poll, released on Tuesday, Oct. 6, also found that 66 percent of Ohioans say if doctors were paid more to manage and prevent chronic illnesses rather than paid per procedure, the health care system would improve or significantly improve.
The 69 percent who say the public option would improve or significantly improve the health care system was slightly lower than the 73 percent who provided the same responses in a June 2009 survey.
The poll was sponsored by the non-partisan Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and conducted by the University of Cincinnati’s Institute for Policy Research.
It was conducted Sept. 16-26 with 818 adults from around the state through telephone interviews and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.
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Nearly 160,000 Ohioans lost both jobs and health insurance in 2009
A new report estimates that the economic downturn caused 158,300 Ohioans to lose both their jobs and health insurance in 2009.
“One-Two Punch: Unemployed and Uninsured” from Families USA, a national organization for health care consumers, was released on Wednesday, Oct. 7 and is based on the link between employment and health care coverage.
“This really underscores the need for national (health care) reform,” said Cathy Levine, co-chair of Ohio Consumers for Health Coverage.
According to the report, 61.9 percent of Americans younger than 65 get health care through their job or a family member’s job. Job loss usually means health insurance loss because COBRA and individual coverage are too high, according to the report.
The estimate is based on a model created by Urban Institute economists. Their formula shows that for every percentage point increase in the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate, the percentage of uninsured working-age adults grows by .59 percentage points.
Ohio’s unemployment rate for 2008 was 6.5 percent but the average unemployment rate for the first eight months of 2009 jumped to 10.3 percent, according to the report.
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H1N1 vaccine on its way, health department says
The Ohio Department of Health expects 61,500 nasal spray doses of the H1N1 vaccine to arrive within 24 hours and more doses will arrive each week after that and stockpiles of anti-virual medications are being distributed to local health departments, according to Health Department Director Alvin Jackson.
Gov. Ted Strickland on Wednesday, Oct. 7, signed an emergency order that authorizes the state’s 17,000 emergency medical technicians to administer immunizations, if needed.
Strickland, Jackson and other government officials are urging Ohioans to get the seasonal flu shot or spray immediately and the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. They’re also advising adults and children to stay home when they are sick, wash their hands frequently with soap and water, and cough or sneeze into their elbow.
The Ohio Department of Health has flu information on its web site, www.odh.ohio.gov, and available during business hours by calling (866) 800-1404.
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Poll: Voters conflicted over U.S. involvement in Afghanistan
Voters across the country are conflicted over the involvement of American troops in Afghanistan, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
The poll found that by a 65-28 percent majority voters are willing to have American soldiers “fight and possibly die” to eliminate the threat of terrorists operating from Afghanistan..
Also, by a 52-37 percent majority, voters think the war in Afghanistan is he right thing for the U.S. to do.
However, by a 49-38 percent margin, voters say they do not think the U.S. will succeed in eliminating the terrorist threat. Also, by a 62-22 margin they don’t think the U.S. will succeed in building a stable democratic government in Afghanistan.
Here’s your chance to get involved in the discussion:
The poll results come as President Barack Obama continues to review American policy in the war, including the possibility of sending more troops.
“The American people are deeply conflicted about the war in Afghanistan. Two-thirds of voters can tell you that the war is related to the 9/11 attacks and see the current effort there as worthwhile to prevent a recurrence,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute said n a press release.
“…they don’t want a prolonged military commitment and there is obvious nervousness about requests from the military to send more troops to Afghanistan.”
The poll was taken from Sept. 29 to Monday, Oct. 5 with 2,630 registered voters nationwide and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.
