POLITICAL RHETORIC AND POLITICAL PERSUASION - THE CHANGING STRUCTURE OF CITIZENS PREFERENCES ON HEALTH-INSURANCE DURING POLICY DEBATE

This research examines whether the structure of citizens' preferences on government-supplied health insurance changed during the course of t he health care debate of the early 1990s. Specifically, it seeks to de termine if the considerations that structure citizens' preferences on health insurance changed in a manner consistent with elite attempts to shape public opinion to their advantage. Additionally, it investigate s whether change in the structure of citizens' preferences on health i nsurance policy were moderated by political awareness. Findings indica te that public opinion on government-supplied health insurance changed dramatically over a relatively short period of time; that the structu re of preferences changed in accordance with the prominence of argumen ts advanced by political elites; and that change in preferences and th e structure of preferences occurred most dramatically among the low an d, especially, medium politically aware.