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Nearly half of Americans asked said they feared health costs would increase if a healthcare reform bill passes, a Gallup Poll released Thursday indicated.

Forty-nine percent of survey respondents said they thought healthcare costs would rise, an increase from 42 percent in September, the poll suggests.

In addition, 39 percent of respondents said they expected the quality of care they receive to worsen, 39 percent said they expected their health coverage to change for the worse and 46 percent said they feared insurance companies would change requirements for coverage of certain treatments, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

The poll indicated no more than one-fourth of those asked said they thought their healthcare circumstances would improve in any of the four areas surveyed. Despite the dire feelings, Americans indicated they were open to healthcare reform. Twenty-five percent of those polled said they would support the final bill and 39 percent said their support or opposition would depend on as-yet unresolved provisions in the proposed legislation. Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 1,521 adults conducted Friday though Monday. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.

Source: United Press International

You can discuss more about Healthcare Reform and related topics in our Healthcare Reform Group.