SALT LAKE CITY -- Only Congressman Jim Matheson bucked his party in the vote on the health care reform, even though the whole Utah congressional delegation voted no.

All said, they heard plenty from their constituents, and an exclusive new poll shows us how well they listened.

A majority of Utahns do not like the health care reform plan. In a statewide Dan Jones Poll conducted Monday night for KSL and the Deseret News, 67 percent -- two out of three -- Utahns oppose the plan passed by Congress. And many of you let your representatives know it.

"I wish we would have been in a better place after a yearlong debate of health care in this country," said Jim Matheson in a satellite interview from Washington.

The lone Utah Democrat in Washington, Matheson said parts of the bill are positive. For example, people who cannot get insurance because of pre-existing conditions will be able to buy insurance through a pool. He also said he wants health insurance for uninsured Americans. But those components did not sway his vote.

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"It wasn't good enough for me when I was weighing the positives and negatives to vote 'yes,'" he said. "But, I can acknowledge there are some components of the bill that are going to make progress."

Matheson said he heard from thousands of Utahns on all sides of the issue. Many stressed the importance of coverage for uninsured Americans. Others want to reign in out of control health care costs.

"My problem with the legislation is, I didn't think that it's really going to affect this excessive growth of health care costs over time," Matheson said. "I think premiums are going to continue to rise."

He also did not like special deals in the bill.

Republican Rep. Rob Bishop says Utah started statewide health care reform last year, and this bill preempts that. He's disappointed that the state's plan to tailor health care for Utahns will be trumped by the national plan.

"The overall emphasis of this bill is really a power shift away from Utahns making choice, back to Washington doing a 'one-size-fits-all' for the program," said Bishop in a satellite interview from Washington.

While the majority of Utahns may oppose the bill, many like key aspects. Seventy-six percent think pre-existing conditions should be covered. Utahns are split, though, on coverage for 36 million uninsured Americans. More than 50 percent do not think Americans should be required to have insurance.

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Bishop fears the long-term costs and the unintended consequences.

"Utah was moving forward with the right solution, and Utah's efforts are going to be hampered by what happened last night," said Bishop. "That is what's so sad and so tragic in this trillion dollar tragedy."

Bishop said he's received letters, e-mails and calls from his constituents for more than a year on the issue, expressing "a lot of anxiety and a lot of anger about what the federal government is trying to do."

When it comes to political fall-out, he said November is a long way off, but ... "What is fair to say is that the anger and frustration that I've been receiving from constituents for the last full year, is not going to dissipate at all, it may in fact increase," he said.

As for not voting with his party, Matheson says he can live with his vote.

"Not all of the 900,000 people in my congressional district are going to agree with me," he said. "And whether they agree, or disagree, I hope they recognize I'm really trying to do what I think is the right thing."

As for Matheson's approval rating, he polled 64 percent statewide.

E-mail: jboal@ksl.com

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