But a new Field Poll shows deep worries about the health care system and strong support for the defeated proposal.

The nonpartisan poll found that California's registered voters are increasingly worried about losing health coverage, having to pay more out-of-pocket costs for health care and losing access to quality doctors.

The survey, being released today, shows a public growing more pessimistic about the health care system and worried about the state's failure to pass a plan that would have covered most of the uninsured.

“The anxiety is there, and it's growing,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll.

The survey showed that 39 percent of voters statewide believe the system will be worse five years from now, while only 13 percent believe it will be better. Thirty-eight percent believe it will be about the same, while 10 percent have no opinion. Half of Californians say they are satisfied with the health-care system now.

The poll showed that 57 percent are very concerned about either not having health insurance or losing it, up from 48 percent in a 2006 survey.

Fifty-eight percent are very concerned about having to pay more out-of-pocket expenses such as co-payments for doctor visits and prescription drugs. These concerns were on the minds of 40 percent of voters in 2006.

In addition, 51 percent say they are concerned about not having access to quality doctors and health care services, up from 40 percent in 2006.

The poll showed strong support for the major elements of a plan backed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles.

The plan, which would have covered 3.6 million uninsured Californians, was defeated by the Democratic-controlled Senate in January. Democrats worried that it would cost too much and provide a windfall for insurance companies.

Provisions of the plan have been adopted by the leading Democratic presidential contenders, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

Seventy-two percent of California voters approved the overall Schwarzenegger/Núñez plan, which required insurers to cover all applicants regardless of their health condition, forced employers to help pay for their workers' health care, expanded government programs and required all residents to buy insurance.

The plan required both legislation and voter approval of an initiative that would have authorized new taxes, including a tobacco tax and a hospital tax.

The initiative would have faced a barrage of opposition from a diverse coalition, including tobacco companies, small-business owners and the liberal California Nurses Association.

Still, DiCamillo said he believes it might have succeeded on the November ballot. “Given the breadth of support, it would have had a fair chance of winning,” DiCamillo said.

The poll found that large majorities supported elements of the plan, including:

 Eighty-four percent favored requiring health insurance companies to offer coverage to everyone, including people with pre-existing conditions.

 Seventy-seven percent endorsed state-subsidized insurance for low-income adults.

 Seventy-three percent backed the employer mandate, which would require all employers to help pay the costs of health insurance for their workers on a sliding scale, with small employers paying less and larger companies paying more.

 Sixty-eight percent supported the idea of an “individual mandate,” which would require all residents to buy health insurance.

In addition, 71 percent of voters approved raising tobacco taxes $1.75 per pack to pay for the plan. But 77 percent of voters were against increasing hospital fees 4 percent, although hospitals supported such a tax.

Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access, a consumer and union group, said the latest poll shows that there is a strong desire for major health care changes.

“Voters are scared about the current system,” he said. “They see the need for change.”

Wright's group is leading new legislative efforts to provide more transparency to the system and more information about health care policies sold on the individual market.

Wright said public support for the Schwarzenegger/Núñez plan could translate into a major federal health care overhaul in 2009 if a Democrat wins the presidency.