Poll Shows Support for Reform Rising Again

The September Kaiser Health Tracking Poll shows reform regaining some ground that had been lost in the town-hall mania of August. Here are some of the findings:

Fifty-seven percent of Americans now believe that tackling health care reform is more important than ever—up from 53 percent in August. The proportion of Americans who think their families would be better off if health reform passes is up six percentage points (42% versus 36% in August), and the percentage who think that the country would be better off is up eight points (to 53% from 45% in August).

Substantial majorities of Americans continue to say they back individual reform components designed to expand coverage, including an individual mandate (68%), an employer mandate (67%) and an expansion of state programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (82%).

Oddly, the poll does not measure support for the public option. You can read more about the Kaiser poll here.