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WASHINGTON, Oct 20, 2003 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A Washington Post-ABC News poll found most Americans want prescription drug coverage and universal health care.
Two-thirds of those polled said they wanted Congress to legalize the importation of lower-priced medicines from Canada and Europe, despite warnings by the Food and Drug Administration it cannot guarantee the safety of those products.
Twelve percent said they or a family member had already shopped for prescription drugs outside the United States to save money and most said they would also be willing to pay higher taxes to provide prescription drug benefits to senior citizens.
Seventy-eight percent say they are dissatisfied with the total cost of health care while 54 percent said they are dissatisfied with overall quality as well -- up 10 percentage points since a similar poll in 2000.
Six in 10 said they would prefer universal health care so that the nearly 44 million people who currently lack health insurance could be covered.
The poll of 1,000 randomly selected adults conducted Oct. 9-13 has an error rate of 3 percentage points.
Copyright 2003 by United Press International.
