Support for Reform Law Drops to Lowest Point Since May, Poll Finds
Public support for the federal health reform law has dropped to its lowest point since May, despite Democrats' hope that support for health reform would increase after the law's passage, according to a new Kaiser Health Tracking Poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, Politico reports.
In August, the poll found that:
- Support for health reform was at 43%, a seven percentage-point drop from July; and
- Opposition to the law increased by 10 percentage points to 45%.
Although support for the overall law has not improved, support has increased for several provisions of the law, such as:
- No-cost preventive care; and
- A ban on lifetime or annual caps on health insurance coverage.
However, opposition to some provisions -- such as the individual mandate to obtain health insurance -- has increased. The mandate was opposed by 70% of the poll's respondents.
Election Implications
According to the poll, respondents listed health care as the third most important factor they would consider when deciding how they will vote in the November midterm elections.
The issue was listed as "extremely important" by 42% of respondents, similar to the 41% polled in June.
The economy and "dissatisfaction with government" were ranked higher than health care (Haberkorn, Politico, 8/31).
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