Over the weekend, the White House signaled that it would accept health care reform legislation that lacked a public option, provoking an “outcry” from progressives. Now, a new Rasmussen poll finds that public support for reform legislation “collapses” if it doesn’t include a public plan:
Just 34% of voters nationwide support the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats if the so-called “public option” is removed. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 57% oppose the plan if it doesn’t include a government-run health insurance plan to compete with private insurers.
It’s not just the public that would withdraw its support from health care legislation that lacks a public insurance plan. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) told CNBC recently that a Senate deal that cuts out the public option would potentially cost 100 votes in the House, because health reform without a public plan would be “essentially meaningless.”
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