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Polls Show Conflicting Results on Health Care Law as House Readies Repeal Vote

1 year ago
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As Congress resumes regular business this week and prepares for a vote in the House on repealing the health care reform law, a number of new polls provide conflicting results on how the public feels about the law and efforts to scrap it or scale it back.
A Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters, conducted Jan. 4-11, says the public supports repeal by 48 percent to 43 percent with 8 percent undecided. (The margin of error is 2.4 points). Support for repeal, according to this poll, is bolstered by independents who want the measure repealed by a 54 percent to 37 percent margin, with 9 percent undecided.
Repeal of the legislation is almost certain to pass the House now that it is firmly in Republican hands, but is less likely to have a chance in the Senate, where Democrats still have a majority. Even if it passed the Senate, it would not be likely to survive a veto by President Obama.
"The Republicans pushing repeal of the health care law have more American people on their side," said Quinnipiac's Peter Brown. "While President Obama's poll rating has improved in recent weeks, the coalition against his health care plan remains and is quite similar to the one that existed when his numbers were at their nadir."
However, two other polls released in the last few days – both of which surveyed the general public, rather than registered voters – produced different results.
An Associated Press-GfK poll, conducted Jan. 5-10, concluded, based on its findings, that "raw feelings over President Barack Obama's overhaul have subsided." The margin opposing the health care legislation approved last March was down to 41 percent to 40 percent with 16 percent undecided. In five of the previous 6 AP-GfK surveys, the margin of opposition had been 5 points or more.
Those who described themselves as "strongly" opposed to the measure numbered 30 percent, the lowest figure in 11 of 12 polls dating back to September 2009.
John BoehnerOn the question of repeal itself, the AP-GfK results are starkly different than those of Quinnipiac. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed want to leave the law as it is or expand it (with 43 percent wanting to change it to do more and 19 percent preferring to keep it as-is) while 36 percent want to repeal it or reduce its scope, (with 26 percent favoring repeal and 10 percent wanting to scale it back).
However, the poll found solid opposition to the provision of the law that requires every American to obtain health insurance. Fifty-nine percent opposed the individual mandate while 31 percent supported it. Seven percent neither favored nor opposed it and 3 percent were undecided.
A Marist Institute/McClatchy poll, conducted Jan. 6-10, said 49 percent of those it surveyed wanted to let the law stand or expand it while 42 percent wanted to repeal it or scale it back, with 9 percent undecided.
While Democrats predictably remained heavily in favor of the law and Republicans heavily opposed, independents were more divided, with 48 percent who favored keeping the law or expanding it and 45 percent who wanted it repealed or reduced, with 7 percent undecided.

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Filed Under: Health Care, Polls, Poll Watch

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87 Comments

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cferrin104

I wonder if the defense bill is 2000 pages. And why does that even matter the size of the bill. That is a point of view without any intellectual basis for connecting it to the fabric of reality

January 19 2011 at 2:04 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
gridge9356

Yes, well I certainly will not be contacting Huckabee to have my name added to the list, nor will the other 65% of the population. While the Health Care Bill has some flaws it is better than nothing. The GOP has created their own falsified "truth" about this bill. We do not need to have Congress wasting their time on this, what we need is to address adding much needed jobs to the economy. This is the REAL #1 issue that congress should be addressing.

January 19 2011 at 11:13 AM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to gridge9356's comment
Marie Brown

gridge9356. If this health bill goes forward and I pray it doesn't, it will be the bureaucrats deciding how the doctor will treat you. It doesn't matter the size of the bill? It does if no one reads it before signing it. Your representatives would have never legislated Obama Care IF it including themselves or their families. Why is that? It took Obama over one year to goat the Democrats into signing it, and it cost many careers in the last election. Democrats are dropping out of the next election because they know what's coming in November 2012.

February 20 2011 at 6:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Realtors

No responsible lawmaker would sign a 2,000 + page bill. It wreaks of earmarks and deficit spending.... We can't afford it. We need a simpler, less expensive bill.

January 19 2011 at 10:38 AM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
Michelle

It's not too late to let your senator know that you would like the current Obamacare repealed and overhauled. www.repealitnow.com or www.repealhealthcareact.com/mike-huckabee.aspx will give the chance to put your name on an extended list that is going to be presented in an effort to support the repeal votes. No contribution necessary!

January 19 2011 at 10:11 AM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Michelle's comment
aethon007

Most Americans DO NOT want that. Most in the GOP do. Good luck. If you win, we lose and the deficit goes up another $200 billion.

January 19 2011 at 10:46 AM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply
Earl58

Thanks for the heads-up... I just e-mailed my Representative and Senators to voice my opposition to repeal of the Health Care Law. Just as public education and police and fire protection are beneficial to all the people, a healthy populace benefits everyone. Health insurance should not be a for profit business. People, not profits, should come first.

January 19 2011 at 9:07 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
jscysoccerbabe4

This country needs to stop allowing the insurance companies from running our country. Thats the only reason the GOP, is trying to block Obamacare,is so they can get all the kickbacks from them.

January 19 2011 at 10:10 AM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
pmarsh25

Instead of improving the country's economic situation or finding ways to put people back to work, the GOP is choosing to plow ahead with the most divisive item on their agenda and cast a vote to strip Americans of health coverage -- what a waste of time.

January 19 2011 at 9:32 AM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
sexyplus60

everyone born in this country has a right to health care i cannt believe that in america we would let people die because they have no money we sure as hell take care of the men and women we send to murder in our two wars in the middle east lets wake up america ans take care of americans

January 19 2011 at 8:03 AM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
dvanker

AOL continues its campaign of advocacy for the Obama administration, but this analysis is empty and pointless. Surprise, surprise -- a large minority of people support Obamacare when they understand it as a path to a debt-free, non-deficit-producing, trillion-plus-dollar entitlement and someone else covering part of their insurance. But a very large majority rejects the individual mandate, which is the key to Obamacare's cost-shifting from older, less healthy people to younger, healthier people who'd either choose to go without health insurance or -- and this is the dirty secret of Obamacare -- buy a "major-medical" plan to cover catastrophic costs only, for about $50 or $80 a month. That's the essential truth: in a recent poll, 100% of those surveyed said they approved of free ice cream, but a majority opposed a plan to force everyone to buy ice cream at a higher cost than they currently see at the market. Obamacare's promises of lower deficits, lower health care costs and free choice of coverage options are false. If advocates would simply be honest -- and admit that Obamacare is about expanding coverage for the uninsured without serious regard to costs -- this debate might be more productive.

As it is, Obamacare forces everyone into costlier insurance plans, then tells us not to worry because the government will either (1) force your insurance company to deliver expanded coverage without any increased costs or (2) use the higher costs and taxes on other people to pay for part of your insurance. He who promises to rob Peter to pay Paul can always count on Paul's support.

January 19 2011 at 2:20 AM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
Mick

How could insurance companies be against obamacare when they are given 30 million new policy holder whose premiums are paid by our government with hard working tax payers money? These same people have been employed for years in order to keep their families insured. Some in jobs they wish they could quit but keep to protect their families. No one is denied medical coverage in this country, why do we have to change this?

January 18 2011 at 11:19 PM Report abuse -5 rate up rate down Reply
nflamingo

Health Care has become a BUSINESS, that is why people are going into any medical field. People forget that Doctors are not God and can not fix everything or save every life. They do tests for a few reasons, one being they don't want to be sued, two for the money and three, they actually feel they can find the problem. I do remember Obama saying the Ins. premiums would not go up, well mine did.

January 18 2011 at 10:37 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to nflamingo's comment
artteet

So did my wifes that her job paid for...I guess that is why she will be unemployed soon...The cost is up over 50% n the last two years with the carrier identifing new mandates as the reason and her job will now layoff all the workers and privatize it with no benefits and half the pay...This healthcare mandate will cause many employers to do the same nevermind the thousands of companies that the government has handed out exemptions to so far..Healthcare we all will be mandated to get except the Senate and House along with these companies granted exemption. So we are doing this for millions to get coverage only to exempt millions from the coverage makes no sense.

January 18 2011 at 10:45 PM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
aethon007

Increase in HC costs have nothing to do with Obamacare, whose costs affect the market in 2014.

January 19 2011 at 10:47 AM Report abuse -3 rate up rate down Reply

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