government
Supreme Court health reform decision splits Americans, poll says
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 16, 2012
Americans remain divided on the health system reform law following the U.S. Supreme Court’s July 28 decision upholding the statute. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll issued July 2 found that 47% (including eight in 10 Democrats) approved of the decision, while 43% (including eight in 10 Republicans) disapproved of the court’s ruling. Independents are evenly divided, with 44% in favor and 43% opposed.
The public also was divided in its emotional reaction to the decision: 18% reported being enthusiastic, whereas 17% said they were angry. “Negative emotions run highest among Republicans who support the Tea Party movement, with 49% of this group saying they are angry at the decision,” the survey stated.
Intensity of Democratic support for the law appears to be growing. The proportion of Democrats who said they had “very favorable” views of the Affordable Care Act increased from 31% in May to 47% in June, “an all-time high in Kaiser polling stretching back two years,” according to the survey.
More than 80% of the Democrats polled said opponents should move on to other issues, as do 51% of independents and 26% of Republicans. Yet, nearly seven in 10 Republicans surveyed said they wanted to see efforts to stop the law continue.The survey was conducted June 28-30 among a nationally representative random telephone sample of 1,239 U.S. adults 18 and older.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/07/16/gvbf0716.htm.
