Putting The Public's Money Where Its Mouth Is: Consumers' enthusiasm for health reform wanes sharply when asked to pay higher taxes to expand coverage

This paper reports the results of a 2009 national survey that quantifies Americans' willingness to pay to expand health insurance coverage. We asked respondents whether they would support a Medicaid expansion, a subsidy for low-income people, or a subsidy for the chronically ill, if they had to...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Affairs 2009-01, Vol.28 (Supplement 1), p.w917-w925
Main Authors: Kessler, Daniel P., Brady, David W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chronically ill
Health policy
Public opinion
Subsidies
Taxation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper reports the results of a 2009 national survey that quantifies Americans' willingness to pay to expand health insurance coverage. We asked respondents whether they would support a Medicaid expansion, a subsidy for low-income people, or a subsidy for the chronically ill, if they had to pay more income taxes to cover the program's costs. Based on respondents' reported income, we told them approximately how much, in dollar terms, their tax increases would be. Our results reflect a tension in public opinion recognized by previous investigators: a desire for reform but limited willingness to pay for it. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.28.5.w917