Poll Finds Majority of Colorado’s Registered Voters Want to Expand Health Care, But Uncertain How to Pay for Improvements

In a poll of 1,010 registered Colorado voters, 88% of respondents said no one should be refused health care because they cannot pay, and 73% said the government should guarantee basic health coverage for doctor and hospital care. However, when asked how to pay for increased access to care, respondents' most common response was "I don't know," the Denver Rocky Mountain News reports. The poll, conducted by Ciruli & Associates for the Rose Community Foundation, also found the following:

• 99% said they thought taxpayers, the government, the insured or some combination of those ultimately cover medical bills for people who cannot pay.
  
• 17% said they would continue with the current system for absorbing the costs of the uninsured, while 66% want a different system.
  
• 6% of respondents said they favored a national health or single-payer health plan.
  
• 50% said they would pay more taxes to help fund the health care costs of the uninsured, but "not very much more," with half of them willing to pay $1 to $4 more per month.
  
• 70% "strongly or somewhat strongly" supported higher cigarette taxes, 73% supported higher liquor taxes and 66% supported increasing the sales tax by half a cent to help pay for expanded care.
  
• 90% said they had health insurance "of some kind."
  
• 2% of respondents without insurance said they were not covered because they were "young and healthy" and 2% said they were denied coverage because of "poor health or advanced age."
  
• 80% are satisfied with their health coverage.
  
• 80% reported uninterrupted coverage for 12 months for all members of their household; however, 15% said they or someone in their household did not receive "needed" care this year because they did not have insurance, the procedure was not covered by insurance or the procedure was too expensive (Scanlon, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 11/25).
  
• 38% said their premiums have increased "a lot" and 53% said they had higher copayments (Auge, Denver Post, 11/25).