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Journal News: Health Care

Poll shows local residents split on health care reform

01.15.2008
By Candice Ferrette

HARRISON - Most residents in the Lower Hudson Valley believe changes to the U.S. health-care system should focus on providing coverage to all Americans before reducing the cost for the average American, according to a new poll by Manhattanville College.

"I was most surprised to find that people here were willing to have their taxes go up to cover the uninsured," said Richard Berman, Manhattanville's president. "This is not an under-taxed area."

The poll, released yesterday, also indicated that residents were polarized along political party lines both in defining the problem with the current health-care system and fixing it. In general, it found, Republicans see the problem as one of rising costs in receiving care while Democrats see it as a lack of insurance for too many Americans - nearly 45 million.

Second to the economy, Berman said health care is among the top domestic issues on the minds of local voters and the reason for the survey. Pollsters interviewed 502 residents age 18 or older in Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties. Of those interviewed, 492 were registered voters and 10 said they were going to register before the election.

Democrats and independent voters see Hillary Clinton as the candidate who would best fix the problems with the health-care system, while Republicans said Rudy Giuliani would do the best job.

Lowering the cost of health care and making sure everyone has access to care are not opposing ideas, some advocates of universal health coverage say.

"The most important thing is that real life is not a matter of lowering costs and covering everybody. The two are not diametrically opposed goals. We clearly have to do both. We have to have universal coverage, we are already paying for it and not getting it. By covering everyone, we will lower costs," said Georganne Chapin, president and CEO of Hudson Health Plan. Based in Tarrytown, the not-for-profit group provides managed health care to people on Medicaid, the government-sponsored health insurance for the poor.

The cost of "charity care" or the treatment hospitals provide to those who don't pay is passed on to other patients. Administrative costs and the uncertainty of coverage are also costly. A universal system would make sure everyone got the same care regardless of ability to pay, Chapin said.

Dr. Jeffery Oppenheim, on the other hand, says he wants the government to keep out of his practice.

The Rockland brain surgeon, president of the county's Board of Health and a registered Republican, says universal health care coverage is "not practical" and would mean an overall decline in patient care with longer waitlists for certain procedures. He points to the well-publicized problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina as reasons he doesn't want government involved in health care.

"Do we want Washington getting involved and ruining it for everybody?" he said.

The government is already taking care of people who are really in need with Medicare and Medicaid, Oppenheim said. He believes that nearly a third of the people who are uninsured are illegal immigrants.

"I treat them because I'm legally and morally obligated to, but we're not getting paid. ... I'd love someone to ask Hillary Clinton how she plans to offer health insurance to illegals," said Oppenheim, who favors a tax-incentive for businesses to provide insurance coverage to their employees.

Oppenheim said a loss of income for doctors didn't factor into his reasons for opposing universal coverage.