Americans Are Tilting Towards the Negative on Health Care Reform

Americans are split down the middle on whether they believe health care reform, if passed, would make the system better or worse for the country, but a plurality believe that change will be for the worse when it comes down to how it will affect them personally, according to a Gallup poll conducted Nov. 5-8.

Most of the interviews for this poll were finished before Saturday night's House vote on its legislation.

Forty-one percent say reform legislation, if it becomes law, will make the nation's health care system better, 40 percent say worse, 14 percent believe it would make no difference and 5 percent are undecided,

When it comes to how they expect an overhaul of the system to affect them personally, as opposed to its impact on the nation as a whole, 36 percent say change will be for the worse, 31 percent believe it will make no difference, 26 percent expect their situation will improve and 7 percent are undecided.

Thirty-eight percent say they'd advise their member of Congress to vote against legislation this year that is now on Capitol Hill compared to 29 percent who want to see a measure passed and 33 percent who expressed no opinion. That's down from 40 percent who favored a "yes" vote in October compared to 36 percent who wanted their representative to vote against, with 25 percent having no opinion.

When Gallup expanded the question to ask whether those polled leaned more one way than another, 48 percent said they'd advise a "no" vote compared to 43 percent who favored a "yes" vote with 9 percent still expressing no opinion.