National

Based on what you know about the health care reform legislation being
considered right now, do you favor or oppose the plan?
35% Favor, 51% Oppose (chart)

Do you think abortion procedures should or should not be covered by private
insurance plans?
37% Should, 51% Should not

Do you favor or oppose the amendment to the health care reform bill that
passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week that prevents any federal
funds from being used for abortions?
50% Favor, 38% Oppose

If an individual receives financial assistance from the federal government
to purchase private health insurance, do you think they should or should not be
able to buy an insurance plan that covers abortion procedures?
39% Should, 52% Should not

On the issue of abortion, would you say you are more pro-life or more pro-choice?
47% Pro-life, 44% Pro-choice

How do you think the recent shooting incident at the Army installation in
Fort Hood, Texas where 13 people were killed is most accurately described -- as
an act of terrorism or as a killing spree?
44% Act of terrorism, 49% Killing spree

Do you think it is more likely that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan
was a Muslim extremist protesting U.S. foreign policy or that he was just
someone who went nuts and shot at his co-workers?
38% Protesting U.S. foreign policy, 45% Just went nuts

There have been reports that some people who knew Nidal Hasan could see
there was something wrong but did nothing. Do you think they kept silent mainly
because they didn't want to be accused of being prejudice against his religion
or mainly because they did not think he was really that dangerous?
46% Didn't want to be seen as prejudiced, 38% Didn't think of him as dangerous

Do you think the medical testing of the swine flu vaccine was done as
quickly as possible while still making sure the vaccine is safe, or was the
testing for the vaccine done too quickly so that people can't be sure it is
safe?
45% Done quickly while being safe, 40% Too quickly, can't be sure it's safe

Women are disproportionately affected by poor health care coverage

Because of gender differences in work patterns, women are less likely to have employee coverage, and more likely to have less efficient individual coverage. Compared to men, women report being more likely to delay needed care, and more likely to spend over 10% of their income on health care.

The White House, driven by the First Lady, has made some effort to bring women into the health care debate. But until just recently, those efforts seemed less successful, at least in generating interest.

Women, particularly younger women, are paying less attention to the debate

Thanks to the kind folks at Pew, we were able to get crosstabs from recent surveys about attention paid to various issues in the news. They found women to be paying less attention to the health care debate than men up until their October survey.

Examining gender by age, younger women were substantially less likely to be following the debate. In early September, this group was largely divided between following the debate closely (53%) and not closely (48%). At least two-thirds of other gender/age groupings were following the debate closely. In the most recent survey, younger women have begun to catch up with younger men in extent of interest.

Women, particularly younger women, are more supportive of health care reform

While they might not be paying as close attention, polls suggest younger women make up a strong base of support for reform. Gallup has shown more women would advise their Member of Congress to support health care reform, while men would advise their representative to vote against it.

There's actually quite a large difference between older and younger women on this, but little age difference among men. Younger women are one of the demographic groups most likely to advise their representative to vote for health care reform. Older women, however, are evenly divided.

Open Republican hostility to women's health care provides a real opportunity to gain support for reform

Supporters of health care reform should talk to younger women about more than Stupak and abortion. There is plenty of material with which to draw a contrast with reform opponents. See, for example, Senator Kyl's (R-AZ) sneering hostility to maternity care, or Representative Session's (R-TX) likening coverage for woman-specific treatments to coverage for smokers. The very same Senator Enzi (R-WY) who introduced legislation to allow companies to deny coverage of mammograms is now incorrectly using the recent mammogram recommendations as an attack on health care reform. Left unchecked, insurance companies are calling rape and domestic violence pre-existing conditions.

Right now supporters have a good opportunity to make women's health care central to the national conversation. Supporters should remind women which party has been consistently hostile to women's health, and which has not. Politicization of mammograms, and perhaps even the revival of Sarah Palin, threaten to cede some ground among women voters. But women, especially younger women, are ready for our message on reform.

UPDATE:  Thanks to the person who alerted me to this 2006 vote, in which ten Senate Republicans voted against coverage to victims of domestic violence.  The link also has some other important facts about women and health care reform, such as a C-section frequently being considered a pre-existing condition.

California

2010 Senate (trends)
Boxer 46%, Fiorina 37% (chart)
Boxer 46%, DeVore 36%

Favorable / Unfavorable
Barbara Boxer: 51 / 41 (chart)
Chuck DeVore: 31 / 25
Carly Fiorina: 40 / 29

National

Obama Job Approval (previously released)
49% Approve, 46% Disapprove (chart)

Favorable / Unfavorable
Mike Huckabee: 36 / 37 (chart)
Sarah Palin: 40 / 49 (chart)
Ron Paul: 23 / 34
Mitt Romney: 30 / 39 (chart)

2012 President
Obama 49%, Huckabee 44%
Obama 51%, Palin 43%
Obama 46%, Paul 38%
Obama 48%, Romney 43%

New York

2010 Governor: Democratic Primary
72% Cuomo, 21% Paterson (chart)

2010 Governor: General Election
69% Cuomo, 24% Lazio (chart)
44% Paterson, 44% Lazio (chart)

Do you want David Paterson to run for governor in 2010, or not?
30% Yes, 63% No

Job Approval / Disapproval
20% Excellent/Good, 76% Fair/Poor (chart)

National

Favorable / Unfavorable
Barack Obama: 55 / 39 (chart)
Nancy Pelosi: 40 / 51
Harry Reid: 32 / 58
Mitch McConnell: 14 / 68
John Boehner: 13 / 65
Democratic Party: 44 / 50
Republican Party: 23 / 67

State of the Country
41% Right Direction, 55% Wrong Track (chart)

National

Which of the following comes closer to your view of the budget deficit -- the government should run a deficit if necessary when the country is in a recession and is at war, or the government should balance the budget even when the country is in a recession and is at war?
30% Run a deficit, 67% Balance the budget

How would you rate the economic conditions in the country today -- as very good, somewhat good, somewhat poor, or very poor?
18% Very/Somewhat Good, 82% Very/Somewhat Poor

Do you think the Democrats or the Republicans are more responsible for the country's current economic problems?
27% Democrats, 38% Republicans, 27% Both

Do you think Barack Obama's policies have improved economic conditions, worsened economic conditions, or had no effect on economic conditions in the country?
36% Improved, 28% Worsened, 35% No effect

Arizona

2010 Senate: Republican Primary
McCain 45%, Heyworth 43%, Simcox 4%

Favorable / Unfavorable (among Republicans)
John McCain: 74 / 24
J.D. Heyworth: 67 / 16
Chris Simcox: 27 / 26

New York

Job approval / Disapproval
Pres. Obama: 58 / 41 (chart)
Gov. Paterson: 38 / 59 (chart)

2010 Senate
Gillibrand 45%, Pataki 42% (chart)

2010 Governor
41% Lazio, 37% Paterson (chart)
57% Giuliani, 30% Paterson (chart)
57% Cuomo, 29% Lazio (chart)
49% Cuomo, 46% Giuliani (chart)

Favorable / Unfavorable
George Pataki: 51 / 44
Kirsten Gillibrand: 40 / 37 (chart)
David Paterson: 36 / 59 (chart)
Rudy Giuliani: 58 / 38
Rick Lazio: 36 / 44
Andrew Cuomo: 56 / 34

Terrorist suspects linked to the 9/11 attacks will now be tried in a New York City civilian court rather than in a military tribunal. Do you agree or disagree with the decision to try these terrorist suspects in a New York City civilian court?
35% Agree, 55% Disagree

Missouri

Job Approval / Disapproval
Gov. Nixon: 42 / 25 (chart)
Sen. Bond: 41 / 34 (chart)
Sen. McCaskill: 42 / 45 (chart)

National

Job Approval / Disapproval
Pres. Obama: 46 / 46 (chart)
Dems: 85 / 9 (chart)
Reps: 15 / 80 (chart)
inds: 34 / 51 (chart)

Congressional Job Approval
26% Approve, 63% Disapprove (chart)

Favorable / Unfavorable
Barack Obama: 54 / 42 (chart)
Sarah Palin: 47 / 42 (chart)
Mike Huckabee: 45 / 23 (chart)
Mitt Romney: 38 / 27 (chart)
Newt Gingrich: 38 / 38
Oprah Winfrey: 61 / 26
Nancy Pelosi: 28 / 50

Do you think Sarah Palin has been treated fairly or unfairly by the press?
31% Fairly, 61% Unfairly

Party ID
38% Democrat, 36% Republican, 20% independent (chart)

New York

2010 Senate: Republican Primary (trends)
71% Giuliani, 24% Pataki

2010 Senate: General Election
54% Giuliani, 40% Gillibrand (chart)

2010 Governor: Republican Primary (trends)
84% Giuliani, 13% Lazio

2010 Governor: General Election
60% Giuliani, 35% Paterson (chart)
53% Cuomo, 43% Giuliani (chart)

Florida

Favorable / Unfavorable
Kendrick Meek: 23 / 9
Charlie Crist: 59 / 32 (chart)
Marco Rubio: 21 / 22
Alex Sink: 25 / 9
Bill McCollum: 39 / 24
Paula Dockery: 9 / 4
Barack Obama: 51 / 45 (chart)

2010 Senate: Republican Primary
Crist 47%, Rubio 37% (chart)

2010 Senate: General Election (trends)
Crist (R) 50%, Meek (D) 33% (chart)
Meek (D) 38%, Rubio (R) 30% (chart)
Crist (i) 32%, Meek (D) 31%, Rubio (R) 27%
Crist (D) 45%, Rubio (R) 34%

2010 Governor: Republican Primary (trends)
McCollum 45%, Dockery 9%

2010 Governor: General Election (trends)
McCollum (R) 35%, Sink (D) 33% (chart)
Dink (D) 35%, Dockery (D) 13%

National

Most Closely Followed Story
27% Debate over health care reform
21% The investigation into the shootings at Fort Hood Army post in Texas
19% Reports about swine flu and the vaccine
15% Reports about the condition of the U.S. economy
5% The debate over whether to send more troops into Afghanistan
2% President Obama's trip to Asia

National

Job Approval / Disapproval
Pres. Obama: 49 / 46 (chart)
Dems: 83 / 12 (chart)
Reps: 10 / 87 (chart)
Inds: 47 / 46 (chart)

Do you support or oppose President Obama's health care plan, or do you not have an opinion?
40% Support, 52% Oppose (chart)

Do you think that Barack Obama legitimately won the Presidential election last year, or do you think that ACORN stole it for him?
62% Legitimately won the election, 26% ACORN stole it

*The League of American Voters is a conservative non-profit opposed to health care reform legislation

Arkansas

Favorable / Unfavorable
Blanche Lincoln: 52 / 38
Mark Pryor: 62 / 24
Gilbert Baker: 22 / 7
Kim Hendren: 24 / 9

2010 Senate
41% Lincoln, 39% Baker
45% Lincoln, 29% Hendren

Do you support or oppose the healthcare bill proposed by President Obama and now making its way through Congress?
29% Support, 64% Oppose

If you knew that Senator Blanche Lincoln supported the proposed healthcare bill, does that make you more or less likely to vote for her in the upcoming Senate election, or does it make no difference to your decision?
18% More likely to support, 48% More likely to oppose, 31% No difference

So my advice to President Obama . . . Challenge Congress to pass a reform bill that requires all members to obtain their health insurance the same way as those without employer-provided health insurance -- through the newly created health care exchanges, rather than the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan. The two systems are conceptually similar -- similar enough that the pledge could help sell voters on the benefits of the exchange itself.

"...it comes out there:"

[O]ne of the decisions Harry Reid had to make in reconciling the HELP Committee and Finance Committee was whether or not to require Members of Congress to purchase their insurance the same way everyone else does. The Finance Committee would have required all Members of Congress to give up their Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan and buy insurance through the new exchanges instead, while the HELP bill would allow them to keep their exclusive health care plans.

The final bill's out, and Reid chose to include the Finance Committee language. Straight form the bill text:

(d) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN THE EXCHANGE.

(i) REQUIREMENT. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the effective date of this subtitle, the only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to Members of Congress and congressional staff with respect to their service as a Member of Congress or congressional staff shall be health plans that are

(I) created under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act); or

(II) offered through an Exchange established under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act).

Heh.

California

New guidelines on breast cancer screening recommend women begin to be screened at age 50, instead of age 40, which was the previous recommendation. Do you think the new guidelines are a good idea?
18% Good idea, 76% Bad idea

Do you think the new recommendations are based more on medicine? Or more on money?
12% Medicine, 77% Money

Among women 35+ who have had mammograms:
Will this affect how often you get future mammograms?
33% Yes, 65% No

Among women 35+ who have not had mammograms:
Will this affect when you go for your first mammogram?
41% Yes, 48% No

National

As of right now, do you generally favor or generally oppose the health care proposals being discussed in Congress?
42% Favor, 39% Oppose

Among those who oppose: As I read some reasons people have given for opposing health care reform, please tell me if each one is a major reason, a minor reason, or not a reason why you oppose the health care reform proposals being discussed in Congress.

Too much government involvement in health care:
85% Major reason, 7% Minor reason, 7% Not a reason

Your own health care may suffer:
70% Major reason, 16% Minor reason, 13% Not a reason

Health care reform is too expensive for the country:
78% Major reason, 13% Minor reason, 8% Not a reason

Government money might pay for abortions:
56% Major reason, 21% Minor reason, 22% Not a reason

The plan might cover illegal immigrants:
67% Major reason, 20% Minor reason, 14% Not a reason

Among those who oppose:
38% Too much government involvement in health care
27% Health care reform is too expensive for the country
14% Your own health care may suffer
8% Government money might pay for abortions
7% The plan might cover illegal immigrants

Asked of all: If the government health care reform plan guarantees certain medical benefits for all Americans, do you think that abortion should or should not be included as one of those benefits?
28% Should be included, 55% Should not be included

Do you strongly favor, favor, oppose, or strongly oppose making it more DIFFICULT for a woman to get an abortion?
40% Favor, 43% Oppose

National

As you may know, a soldier named Nidal Hasan recently shot and killed thirteen people in Ft. Hood Texas. Based on what you know about this matter, do you consider Hasan's actions to be an act of terrorism, or do you consider this to be an act of murder with no direct connection to terrorism?
45% Terrorism, 47% Murder

Based on what you know about this matter, do you think federal law enforcement agencies or the U.S. military should have been able to prevent this from happening, or don't you think so?
64% Should have been able to prevent, 31% Don't think so