New survey shows that seniors are significantly less likely to vote for a
member of Congress who cuts Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage PowerPoint Presentation:
http://www.ahip.org/content/default.aspx?docid=20498
National Survey of Seniors:
http://www.ahip.org/content/default.aspx?docid=20499
WASHINGTON, July 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- By a 15-to-1 margin,
seniors prefer raising tobacco taxes rather than cutting Medicare Advantage
as a means to fund the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP),
according to a survey released today.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040830/AHIPLOGO )
The survey also found that by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, seniors are less
likely to vote for their member of Congress if he or she votes to cut
Medicare Advantage to fund SCHIP.
Conducted by the Feldman Group on behalf of America's Health Insurance
Plans (AHIP), the poll of 603 seniors sheds new light on how America's
seniors view the Congressional debate on health care issues.
"Seniors strongly support SCHIP, but they do not want Congress to kill
one health program to fund another," said Karen Ignagni, President and CEO
of AHIP.
"Based on this survey, it is clear that members of Congress who vote to
cut Medicare Advantage are placing themselves in significant political
peril," said Roy Temple, Partner at the Feldman Group.
The survey presented seniors with a balanced description of Medicare
Advantage using language that both supporters and opponents use to describe
the program. After hearing this balanced description, most seniors enrolled
in Medicare Advantage said they would be less likely to vote for their
member of Congress if he or she cuts the program to fund children's health
insurance. Even among seniors who are not enrolled in Medicare Advantage, a
plurality said they were less likely to vote for a member who would cut
Medicare Advantage to fund children's health insurance.
Overall, 42 percent of seniors say they would be less likely to vote
for a member of Congress who voted to cut Medicare Advantage to fund SCHIP.
That number increases to 44 percent among the 57 percent of seniors who say
they belong to AARP.
Three-fourths of seniors support increasing the tobacco tax to fund
SCHIP. Just five percent of seniors would prefer that Congress fund SCHIP
by cutting Medicare Advantage instead of raising the tobacco tax.
The full survey and a presentation of key findings can be found at
http://www.ahip.org.
America's Health Insurance Plans -- Providing Health Benefits to More
Than
200 Million Americans
SOURCE America's Health Insurance Plans
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Related links:
http://www.ahip.org
Photo Notes:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040830/AHIPLOGO
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photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Mohit Ghose of America's Health Insurance
Plans, +1-202-778-8494
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