Surprise: Americans Confused About Health Care Reform

A CBS poll cuts to the heart of the matter: people are confused about health care reform. When asked if they understand "health care reform ideas," 67 percent of the 1,097 respondents chose "no, they're confusing," vs. 31 percent who said "yes, [I] understand reforms." This should come as little surprise--the health care system is already confusing as it exists, before the slew of proposed changes are even considered. It depends on how specific one considers the term "ideas" to be--the broad stroke of introducing a public option to drive down private insurance prices is a basic concept, but it's complicated once you delve into the specifics. CBS does not say how many poll respondents were journalists, pundits, congressional staffers or political strategists.

It also stands to reason that health reform ideas are confusing because a final proposal doesn't exist yet, and some of those ideas aren't actually on paper. 60 percent (vs. 31 percent) said President Obama hasn't done a good enough job of explaining things...but from what Marc reported earlier today, that's about to change.