Two-thirds of Americans want at least part of health law overturned, according to poll

Mar 28 2012

News outlets examine polls and public opinion related to the health law and explore how much of a campaign issue it may ultimately turn out to be.

The New York Times: Most Oppose At Least Part Of Overhaul, Poll Finds
Two-thirds of Americans want the Supreme Court to overturn some or all of the health care law, even though large majorities support a few of its major aspects, according to a poll by The New York Times and CBS News (Sussman, Cooper and Phillips, 3/26).

National Journal: Poll Says One In Four Americans Want Supreme Court To Uphold Health Care Law-;Report
Only one in four Americans would like the Supreme Court to keep intact President Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll. The court began Monday hearing arguments in the case. Just over half of respondents -- 51 percent -- say they disapprove of the law's individual mandate, which will require nearly all Americans to have health-insurance coverage or pay a penalty. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they would like the Court to invalidate the coverage mandate only, according to the poll, conducted March 21-25 among 986 adults (Chamberlain, 3/27).

ABC: Why Health Care Won't Be a Campaign Issue In 2012
Most Americans have already formed an opinion of the Obama health care law,  and a Supreme Court ruling isn't going to change that. One Democratic strategist who was closely involved in the 2010 midterm elections – an election in which a vote for the health care legislation cost many Democrats their seats- says the health care issue has "been played out and litigated out" (Walter, 3/26).

FactCheck/iWatch News: How Americans really feel about 'ObamaCare'
Mitt Romney says "most Americans want to get rid of" President Obama's two-year-old health care law. Is he right? That depends on which poll-taker is asking the question, and how it's worded. ... a Bloomberg News national poll asked the question this way: "Turning to the health care law passed last year, what is your opinion of the law?" 37 percent agreed with the statement, "It should be repealed." ... [A Gallup poll asked] "If a Republican is elected president in this November's election, would you strongly favor, favor, oppose, or strongly oppose him repealing the healthcare law when he takes office?" Gallup reported these results: 26 percent "strongly favor." 21 percent "favor" (3/26). 

Politico: Why Obama May Not Win If Mandate Is Upheld
But as the Supreme Court takes up the mandate Tuesday, what's at stake is not just the legal question -; whether Congress overreached by requiring nearly all Americans to buy health insurance. There's also the broader political question of whether Obama can really win this one. The public has never liked the idea that the health law will require Americans to buy insurance starting in 2014. Even Obama opposed the mandate during his presidential run. And if the court puts its constitutional stamp of approval on the mandate, the justices are not likely to change public sentiment (Haberkorn, 3/27).

Also, a survey probes employers' perspectives on the health law -

Chicago Tribune: Survey: Employers Keeping Health Coverage
Most employers who said they would drop health insurance coverage for employees because of new health reform legislation, have not done so, according to a new survey. The survey, in its third year, is conducted by the Midwest Business Group on Health and co-sponsored by the National Business Coalition on Health, Business Insurance and Workforce Management, and asked 440 employers in 34 states their perspectives on the Affordable Care Act (Wernau, 3/26).