Topline Results from a Survey of Pennsylvania Voters

On Accepting Federal Funds to Cover Uninsured

N = 817 registered voters 18 and older statewide
Conducted October 12 to 16, 2013
Margin of sampling error: +/- 3.4 percentage points

1. Are you registered to vote at your current address?

Yes ....................................................... 100
No (TERMINATE) ...................................... DK (TERMINATE) ...................................... REF (TERMINATE) .................................... Id like to ask you about an issue being talked about by the governor and the state
legislature.
Under the new federal health care law, 520,000 Pennsylvanians who are uninsured
right now could get health care coverage starting in January.
The governor and state elected officials can choose to accept federal dollars that
have been set aside to cover low-income Pennsylvanians or they can turn the money
down and not cover these residents.
Beginning in January 2014, the federal government will cover 100% of the costs
through 2016, and then 90% of the costs after that. The state could use the funds to
cover people through the Medicaid program, or to help pay for their coverage
through private health plans.
2. Based on what you know right now, what would you like your state to do? ROTATE
Accept the money ................................. 65
Turn the money down ........................... 25
DK ......................................................... 10
REF .......................................................... 0


3. Heres more information about the health care law. The main purpose of the law is
to make health insurance more affordable for Americans who need insurance. The
law does this in two ways. First, it provides tax credits to people who earn above a
certain income in order to help them pay for insurance premiums. For example,
most uninsured adults making more than $15,000 a year will qualify for tax credits
for insurance through their health insurance marketplaces. Have you heard about
these tax credits?
Yes ......................................................... 57
No ......................................................... 43
DK DO NOT PROBE ............................... 0
REF ........................................................... 4. The second part of the law gives federal money to states in order to cover the
lowest income uninsured adults people who make less than $15,000. Many states
use the federal funds to cover these people through their Medicaid programs or to
help pay for their coverage through private health plans. Before today, had you
heard about this part of the law?
Yes ......................................................... 58
No ......................................................... 41
DK DO NOT PROBE ............................... 1
REF .......................................................... 0
5. If the governor and state elected officials decide to turn down the money for
Pennsylvania, heres what that would mean. Most uninsured people who make more
than $15,000 a year would get tax credits to help them pay their monthly insurance
premiums. But people who earn less than $15,000 a year wouldnt get any tax
credits or have any new options for affordable coverage. Based on this, what would
you like the governor and legislature to do?
Accept the money to help cover people
making less than $15,000 a year ..... 67
Turn the money down ........................... 27
DK ........................................................... 5
REF .......................................................... 1

6. The state also has the option to accept the money now and then stop at any time.
Based on this, what would you like the governor and legislature to do? READ
Accept the money ............................................ 67
Turn the money down ...................................... 26
DK ...................................................................... 6
REF ..................................................................... 0
7. If your state legislator voted to accept the federal money to cover more people
through Medicaid or help people buy private plans, would you be more or less
likely to vote to re-elect him or her, or would it not make a difference to you?
More likely to vote for if they accept
funds to cover more people ............................. 34
Less likely to vote for if they accept funds ....... 19
Not make a difference ...................................... 42
DK ...................................................................... 4
REF ..................................................................... 1

Finally I have just a few questions for research purposes only.

8. Do you have health insurance coverage right now?
Yes .................................................................... 90
No .................................................................... 10
DK ..................................................................... 0
REF ..................................................................... 0
9. IF YES: Do you have health insurance throughALLOW MULTIPLE RESPONSE Base
n = 739
Your job or your spouses job .......................... 59
A plan you found and bought on your own ..... 17
Your mom or dads plan ..................................... 5
Medicare .......................................................... 21
Medicaid ............................................................ 5
A military insurance plan .................................... 2
Something else? .................................................. -


DK ...................................................................... 0
REF ...................................................................... -

10. IF NOT MEDICAID IN Q9 Have you, a family member, or close friend ever had
health insurance through Medicaid or CHIP? Base n = 780
Yes .................................................................... 34
No .................................................................... 63
DK ..................................................................... 3
REF ..................................................................... 0
11. What is the last year of schooling that you have completed?
High school or less ........................................... 35
Vocational certificate .......................................... 2
Some college but no degree ........................... 15
Associate degree ............................................. 15
Bachelors degree ............................................ 19
Graduate or professional degree ..................... 13
DK/REF ............................................................... 1
12. ..................................................................................................... Just to make sure we
have a representative sample, could you please tell me whether you are from a
Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish-speaking background? [IF NO, ASK:] What is your
race - white, black, Asian, or something else?
White ................................................................ 83
Black/African American .................................... 10
Hispanic/Latino/Spanish-speaking ..................... 5
Native American ................................................. 0
Asian or Pacific Islander ..................................... 1
Arab American ................................................... 0
Other .................................................................. 1
REF ..................................................................... 0

13. Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a [ROTATE: Republican, a

Democrat,] an independent, or something else?
[IF REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT:] Do you consider yourself a strong
(Republican/Democrat) or a not-so-strong (Republican/Democrat)?
[IF INDEPENDENT:] Would you say that you lean more toward the Republicans or
more toward the Democrats?
Strong Democrat .............................................. 24
Not so strong Democrat .................................. 17
Independent lean Democrat ........................... 9
Independent does not lean ........................... 11
Independent lean Republican ......................... 5
Not so strong Republican ................................ 14
Strong Republican ............................................ 16
Something else .................................................. 1
DK ...................................................................... 1
REF ..................................................................... 1
14. Do you consider yourself to be [ROTATE: very liberal somewhat liberal, moderate,
somewhat conservative, or very conservative?]
Very liberal ....................................................... 10
Somewhat liberal .............................................. 17
Moderate.......................................................... 29
Somewhat conservative.................................... 24
Very conservative ............................................. 15
DK ...................................................................... 4
REF ..................................................................... 1
15. What is your age? IF REFUSED: Here are some categories, please stop me when we
get to your category:
18 to 34 ............................................................ 26
35 to 44 ............................................................ 16
45 to 54 ............................................................ 20
55 to 64 ............................................................ 17
65+ ................................................................... 20


DK ....................................................................... REF ..................................................................... 0

16. Rounding to the nearest thousand, what is your annual household income, before
taxes? IF REFUSE ASK: Again, we certainly respect your privacy. Knowing the
information is collected for research purposes only, can you please tell us which of
the following income ranges best describes your total annual household income,
before taxes?
Less than $50,000 ............................................ 25
$50,000-$99,999 .............................................. 35
$100,000+ ........................................................ 26
Refused ............................................................ 14
GENDER
Male ................................................................. 48
Female.............................................................. 52