As a key July 1 implementation milestone approaches, most Massachusetts residents support a new state law to provide health coverage to almost all residents, including the individual mandate that requires residents to obtain coverage or pay a penalty, according to a new June poll of 1,003 Massachusetts residents.
The poll, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Harvard School of Public Health and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, finds support for the new health insurance law has increased.
In this recent poll, two-thirds (67%) of state residents who have heard of the new health insurance law support it, compared with 16% who oppose it. In a poll conducted last September, six in 10 residents (61%) who had heard of the law said they supported it.
In addition, more than half (57%, compared to 52% in September) say they support the law?s individual mandate requirements, compared with 36% who oppose it.
?Given reports of sticker shock and ongoing debate about the law, we might have expected overall support to fall, but in fact, support is widespread and has gone up,? said Kaiser President and CEO Drew E. Altman, Ph.D. ?If Massachusetts succeeds, it will have a big impact on the momentum for national health reform.?
Residents who support the law mainly say it is because they believe ?it is the right thing to do? (90% of those who support say this is a major reason) and because they believe broader coverage will keep costs down by providing more incentives for preventive care (79%). Among the small group of residents who oppose the law, most say people shouldn?t be required to buy insurance if they can?t afford it (72%) or if they don?t want it (61%).
The random-sample telephone poll was conducted between May 29 and June 10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points for results based on the full sample. The margin of error is higher for results based on subgroups.