Americans overwhelmingly want a government-run public coverage option as part of health care reform, a new New York Times - CBS News poll has found.  The idea to create a public option coverage system that would compete with private insurance companies has been highly contentious throughout the halls of Congress but is not the least bit controversial to the public at large - which, as usual, is ahead of their “leaders” on the issue.

The poll numbers speak for themselves:

• 72% support a government administered health insurance plan being offered, while only 20% oppose it.
• 50% of Republicans support the public option, while 39% oppose it.  Compared with 87% in favor, 9% against amongst Democrats and 73% in favor, 22% against amongst Independents.
• 57% of respondents said they would be willing to pay higher taxes to fund such a government run plan, while 37% said they would not.  
• 50 % said they thought the government would do a better job at providing health care than private insurance companies, compared with 34% who did not.
• 59% said they thought that a government run plan would do a better job than private insurers of keeping costs down, while 26% did not.

So what exactly are we waiting for again in passing the desperately needed legislation to create this program?  Oh yes…the do-nothings in Congress!  And, as it turns out, the opposition to progress doesn’t just include Republicans, whom we’ve come to expect it from, but also a number of key Democrats, particularly in the Senate where passage of the bill is vital to this survival (the House, as usual, is expected to do the right thing here).

One surprising voice of doubt over the issue comes from California Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein, who has publicly voiced her misgivings over the cost of the program.  A smartly funded and cost effective program should no doubt be part of the overall  reform package, but Senator Feinstein needs to get on the right side of this issue, by vocally supporting a public health care option, as though her career depends on it -  which it should.  You can tell her so by email in the Action Tab below.

LINKS:

LA Times: Republicans question cost of healthcare reform; Feinstein expresses doubt

WaPo: State of Play: Health hearings heat up, public weighs in

FiercePharma: Drugmakers pledge $80B to health reform