Opposition to health care reform continues to fall, though opponents are increasingly of the view that the bill should be repealed, according to a new poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
A survey of 1504 adults, including 406 Medicare-eligible seniors finds that 50 percent hold favorable views of the new health care law, while only 35 hold unfavorable views. Back in June, the same poll found that 41 percent viewed the law unfavorably, and going back two more months, the unfavorable numbers were never below 40.
Those surveyed were asked:
“As you may know, a new health reform bill was signed into law earlier this year. Given what you know about the new health reform law, do you have a generally favorable or generally unfavorable opinion of it? Is that a very favorable/unfavorable or somewhat favorable/unfavorable opinion?”
The words favorable and unfavorable were rotated.
A full 25 percent of respondents had very unfavorable views of the law, compared to only 10 percent with somewhat unfavorable views.
That likely explains why 77 percent of those with unfavorable views want the law repealed as soon as possible, up from 66 percent last month. Only 21 percent of opponents say that “the law should be given a chance to work, with Congress making necessary changes along the way.”
The survey paints a picture of minimal, but intense, opposition to the law. Only 27 percent of those surveyed would like to see the bill repealed, while a significant majority are either supportive of the law or willing to give it a chance.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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