Americans trust physicians over politicians on health care reform, says Gallup analyst

Dec 11, 2009 / 14:28 pm

In a follow up conversation with CNA on Friday, Gallup poll analyst Lydia Saad spoke more about her findings on Americans trusting health care workers over Members of Congress, particularly in regard to the current health care reform.

Saad was careful in telling CNA that “the fact that far more Americans believe nurses and doctors have high honesty and ethical standards than say, the same of political leaders does not necessarily equate with trust in each on crafting healthcare reform legislation.”

“However,” she continued, “we do have additional evidence along these lines.”  

Referring to a Gallup poll that she conducted in June, Saad told CNA that evidence shows more Americans display trust in the medical field than Congress to “make the recommendations for healthcare reform.”

According to Saad's June study, “nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) say they are confident in doctors to recommend the right thing for reforming the U.S. healthcare system” which is “significantly higher than the public confidence extended to President Barack Obama” or to Members of Congress.

Although President Obama received rankings in June that indicated Americans trusted him “a great deal or fair amount to make changes in the healthcare system,” Saad explained to CNA, “at the same time, our most recent approval rating of Obama on healthcare tilts negative.”

Those results show that “40 percent approve, 53 percent disapprove – in part reflecting Obama's dampened approval rating,” Saad said.