Copyright 2000 The National Journal, Inc.
The National Journal
February 19, 2000
SECTION: POLLING; Pg. 563; Vol. 32, No. 8
LENGTH: 723 words
HEADLINE:
Poll Track
BYLINE: Deborah L. Acomb
BODY:
The Hot Question
Health Care
Qualms
As Congress takes up the patients' bill of rights, a
Health
Benefits Coalition poll found that 51 percent of voters favor the
Senate version of the bill, which would guarantee HMO patients a
review
within 10 days if they are denied medical care, while 39
percent prefer the
House version, which would give patients the
right to sue their health plans
if they believe they have not
received the necessary care. The poll,
conducted by Public
Opinion Strategies, found that 80 percent believe it is
likely
that employers will drop health coverage if they are vulnerable
to health-related lawsuits by their employees. (1/12/00; 800
registered
voters; margin of error +-3.5%)
Meanwhile, an
American Association of Health Plans poll
found that 33 percent of employers
say they will stop providing
health insurance for all or some of their
employees if the House
version prevails. The poll, conducted by Harris
Interactive,
surveyed 400 companies with 100 or more employees. (1/17/00;
400
human resources directors; +-5%)
But health
care apparently isn't the top priority to
voters who are choosing a
candidate for President. In an ABC
News-Washington Post survey, education
ties entitlements as the
most important issue, with 21 percent choosing
each; health care
trails at 13 percent.
Education
21%
Social Security,
Medicare 21%
Economy
19%
Health care
13%
Taxes
9%
International affairs 6%
Campaign finance
reform 2%
As President, which candidate would do
better on health care?
Thirty-six percent said it's Al Gore, while 32
percent chose
George W. Bush. (1/16/00; 1,007 adults; +-3%)
Education
21%
Social Security, Medicare 21%
Economy
19%
Health care
13%
Taxes
9%
International affairs 6%
Campaign finance
reform 2%
Leading Question
The Right Stuff?
Would Americans vote against John McCain because of
his
volatile temper? Or against George W. Bush because he flubbed a
foreign affairs pop quiz? A survey by Opinion Dynamics Corp. for
Fox
News Channel asked about candidates' characteristics and
found that: 60
percent of respondents believe Al Gore has the
integrity to serve as
commander in chief; 55 percent say McCain
has the temperament to be
effective in office; almost 70 percent
think Bush has the knowledge to
serve; and fewer than half say
Bill Bradley has the experience to do the
job. (2/10/00; 900
registered voters; margin of error +-3%).
Issue
Spotlight
A Higher Power
A few months back, religion was a dominant
theme on the
presidential campaign trail, but today the issue has faded. In
a
survey for the women's Web site iVillage.com, however, 78 percent
of
women responded that it is "very" or "somewhat" important that
a candidate
believe in God. And 69 percent agree with George W.
Bush and Al Gore, both
of whom support proposals that would give
religious groups federal funds to
provide community social
services. The poll, conducted by InterSurvey, drew
a nationally
representative sample of households that have access to the
Internet via WebTV. (1/26/00; 661 adult women; +-4%)
Primary Watch
Looking Ahead to March 7
New York (Democratic primary)
Gore
53%
Bradley 29
(New York Daily News-NY1 News
(2/11/00; 1,408 registered voters;
+-4%)
New York (Republican primary)
Bush 46%
McCain 34
(New York Daily News-NY1 News; 2/11/00; 1,408 registered voters;
+-5%)
Ohio (Democratic primary)
Gore 68%
Bradley
24
(University of Cincinnati; 2/9/00; 390 likely Democratic
primary
voters; +-5%)
Ohio (Republican primary)
Bush
59%
McCain 25
Keyes 5
(University of Cincinnati; 2/9/00; 345 likely GOP primary voters;
+-5%)
California (open primary)
Gore 26%
Bush
22
McCain 19
Bradley
9
(Fairbank, Maslin and Maullin; (2/9/00; 600 likely
open-primary
voters; +-4%)
LOAD-DATE: February 22,
2000