A new poll released today by Rasmussen Reports finds Americans strongly oppose the decision by the Obama administration force insurance companies to cover birth control (and abortion drugs) in the Obamacare health care plan.
The poll did not include mention of the ella drug — billed as a morning after pill but a drug that actually causes an abortion of a unique human being days after conception. Still, a plurality of Americans opposes the requirement the Obama administration put forward this week and they tell Rasmussen that they would like to have the option of picking their health plans based on cost and what coverage they need.
The Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American adults showed 39 percent believe health insurance companies should be required to cover all government approved contraceptives for women, but 46% don’t think they should be. Another 15% are undecided.
Looking further into the results, women are evenly divided on the question of requiring contraceptives coverage in health care plans: 40% favor this requirement while 42% do not. Men are opposed to all insurance companies covering birth control by a 50% to 37%. Half of black Americans (50%) like the requirement, while nearly the same number of whites (48%) are against it and members of other racial groups are evenly split.
Democrats favor forcing insurance companies to cover birth control and abortion drugs 62-22 percent while Republicans oppose it 69% to 23%. Adults not affiliated with either party are more against the idea by a 47% to 29% margin.
As LifeNews reported, the Obama administration has approved a recommendation from the Institute of Medicine suggesting that it force insurance companies to pay for birth control and drugs that can cause abortions under the Obamacare government-run health care program.
The IOM recommendation, opposed by pro-life groups, called for the Obama administration to require insurance programs to include birth control — such as the morning after pill or the ella drug that causes an abortion days after conception — in the section of drugs and services insurance plans must cover under “preventative care.” The companies will likely pass the added costs on to consumers, requiring them to pay for birth control and, in some instances, drug-induced abortions of unborn children in their earliest days.
The Obama administration’s decision also presented significant conscience concerns for Catholic and pro-life groups who don’t want to be forced to pay for insurance coverage for employees that includes birth control and abortion-causing drugs.
The new Rasmussen survey also found Americans have negative views about the ramifications of the Obama administration decision in terms of the cost of health care.
“A majority of Americans (54%) believe health insurance costs would increase if all companies covered women’s contraceptives, while only 15% say cost of insurance would decrease. Twenty-one percent (21%) more say the requirement would have no impact on the cost of health insurance, while 10% are not sure,” Ramussen said of its polling results. “Another factor is that only 32% of Americans believe the government should require every health insurance company and plan to cover the exact same set of medical procedures, while 50% disagree. Another 17% are not sure.”
Republicans and unaffiliated voters are much more likely than Democrats to believe costs will go up if plans are required to cover birth control for women.
In general, 78% say individuals should have the right to pick from different types of health insurance plans, including some that cost more but cover just about all procedures and some that cost less while covering only major medical procedures. Just seven percent (7%) don’t think this choice should be available, while 15% are undecided.
“Similarly, 77% of adults say individuals should have the right to choose between different types of insurance plans, including plans with higher deductibles and lower premiums and plans with lower deductibles and higher premiums. Just six percent (6%) don’t think consumers should have this choice, while 16% are not sure,” Rasmussen indicated.
Overall, 57 percent of Americans continue to believe health care costs will go up under the Obaamcare law, while just 15 percent say they will go down and 21 percent expect costs to stay the same.
The Rasmussen survey of 1,000 adults was conducted on August 2-3.
