New NBC/WSJ poll: 75% of Americans want public option!

From a new NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll:

-Obama's Approval 56% (was 61%)
-When told details of Obama's health care plan 55% favor, 35% opposed
-3/4 of Americans believe that the public option is extremely or quite important in health care reform

On health care, the public remains open to persuasion. Without being told anything specific about the Obama plan in the survey, about a third of people said it's a good idea, about a third said it's a bad idea and the rest had no opinion. When given several details of his approach, 55% said they favored it, versus 35% who were opposed.

There was also support for the Democratic push to let people sign up for a public health-care plan that would compete with private companies, one of the toughest issues in the health-care debate. Three in four people said a public plan is extremely or quite important. But when told the arguments for and against the plan, a smaller portion, 47%, agreed with arguments in support of the plan, with 42% agreeing with the arguments against it.

At the same time, nearly half the participants said it was very or somewhat likely that their employer would drop private coverage if a public plan were available.

In terms of how to pay for health care reform, Americans do NOT like the Baucus/McCain plan of how to pay for it which is taxing health care benefits.

As for how to pay for the package, estimated at more than $1 trillion over 10 years, the public favors proposals to require all Americans to get insurance, to raise taxes on the rich and, to a lesser extent, to require all but the smallest businesses to offer insurance or pay into a fund.

But majorities oppose plans to tax health benefits, even if the taxes only apply to particularly generous plans. The public is divided about cuts to Medicare.

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People want a way to get the health care they need at prices they can afford without fear of financial ruin. It is that simple. If the plan the Democrats decide to offer is so complicated it is hard for the majority of Americans to grasp - they will fear it and we will all lose.