Full Survey (pdf)
An overwhelming majority of Sacramento area residents—81 percent—are deeply concerned about the state of health care in the United States, according to a recently released Sacramento State survey. And 59 percent endorse a plan for the U.S. government to guarantee health insurance for all citizens, even if it means raising taxes.
Sacramento State’s 2007 Annual Survey of the Region, conducted by Professor Amy Liu and her students, also found that a majority support Gov. Schwarzenegger’s plan to require all Californians to have health insurance (60 percent) and President Bush’s proposals to improve health-care coverage in the United States (58 percent). A majority (55 percent) also favor a proposal to provide medical coverage for children of low-income, undocumented immigrants in California.
All the above health-care reform proposals enjoy the strongest support from non-voters, Hispanics and other racial minorities, non-homeowners, younger residents and those making less than $30,000 annually. But registered voters remain divided on this issue; Republicans are more likely to support the President’s plans, but the Governor’s shared responsibility plan and the universal healthcare proposal are more popular among Democrats.
Additional findings include:
- Sacramento area residents (28 percent) are more likely to believe our health-care system is in a state of crisis than the country as a whole (16 percent).
- Support for the President’s health-care reform proposals vary across counties in the region: residents in El Dorado (69 percent) and Placer (62 percent) counties are more likely to endorse the plans than those living in Yolo (46 percent) or Sacramento (57 percent) counties.
- There is less support for Governor Schwarzenegger’s health-care reform proposal in the Sacramento region (60 percent) than the state as a whole (72 percent). However, residents in Sacramento (63 percent) and Yolo (63 percent) counties are more likely to support this proposal than those living in Placer (49 percent) or El Dorado (57 percent) counties.
The survey was a computer-assisted telephone interview of 1,106 randomly selected adults from Sacramento, Yolo, Placer and El Dorado counties. It has a margin of error of 3 percent.
More information is available by contacting Liu at amyliuus@yahoo.com or (916) 278-7572.
