ACI survey: 48% of Americans oppose the Senate bill

Consumers oppose the current Senate Healthcare legislation by a two-to-one margin. In a nationwide survey conducted by the American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research (ACI), 48% of Americans oppose the Senate bill, while 24% support it.

The survey results also find that 90% of consumers believe that they should make their own decisions about healthcare coverage, but, when separately asked about the government's role, 14% agreed that the government should make decisions about their healthcare coverage. On related issues, 70% of consumers support tort reform to reduce malpractice costs (15% against), 79% support allowing health insurance companies to compete across state boarders (15% against), and 83% support coverage for pre-existing medical conditions (14% against). In terms of how to pay for universal healthcare costs, 66% of consumers are against increasing taxes, and 77% are against using Medicare cuts.

The national survey of 1,001 adults was conducted over the period of December 11th to 15th and is part of the Institute's 2009 Consumer Pulse Survey. These survey results have an accuracy of plus or minus 3%.