UMass Poll Rates Attitudes to Health Care Reform, Casinos

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About half of Massachusetts residents think the state's health care reform has not improved the health care system.  That's according to a recent poll from Umass Amherst.

Roughly forty percent of those surveyed thought the Massachusetts health care law that passed in 2006 improved overall health care in the state. But only 16 percent said it improved their own healthcare -- and a high number of those were young or low-income earners. Pollster and Umass professor Brian Shaffner says that's not surprising, since the health care law -- which expanded state subsidies  and mandated insurance for almost everyone -- did not change how care is actually delivered for most people. Schaffner says the poll did not define what it meant by "improved health care".

The poll, conducted in November, also found that voters were not likely to choose a representative based on the  candidate's position on casinos. A majority of respondents also supported the notion that teacher promotions should be based on  effectiveness rather than than seniority.