Monday, ImpreMedia released a poll addressing registered Hispanic voters’ feelings regarding health insurance reform. The poll has been placed on the front page of many well known papers across the country, including La Opinion in Los Angeles and El Diario la Prensa in New York.
The poll was conducted with the help of the Latino Decisions and the Center for Health Policy at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation of the University of New Mexico.
The poll determined that 86% of Latinos believe that it is important for Congress to pass health reform legislation before the 2010 election – 33% said extremely important, 40% very important, and 13% somewhat important. Also, health care reform was the most important issue for 32% of Latinos, 27% found the economy to be the top issue, and 14% cited immigration as their number one concern.
Gabriel Sánchez, assistant professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, explained that health care tops the list for many because “even if they have coverage, they probably have a family member or someone they know who does not; it’s a population that’s very conscious of the problem.”
The poll finds strong backing for universal coverage: 61% nationwide, 63% in California, 59% in Florida, 69% in New York and 51% in Texas. Also, 74% would “somewhat” or “strongly” support inclusion of a Public Option in the final bill.
According to Matt Barreto, of Latino Decisions and also an associate professor of political science at the University of Washington, Latino support for health reform is clear – “This is not an issue that generates a partisan divide among Latinos. It’s a signal for politicians: the voting Latino community supports health reform and universal coverage widely.”
To see the results in English, please visit: www.latinodecisions.com
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