Americans remain “deeply divided” over the nation's healthcare reform package, with 40 percent of adults wanting to repeal all or most of the legislation and 31 percent in favor of keeping all or most of the reforms, according to a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll.
Another 29 percent aren't sure what should be done.
The poll suggests that the conflicting views reflect divisions in Congress, where Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives in January following election gains at the polls last month. Many GOP representatives have pledged to dismantle or at least cut the controversial legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama in March.
However, the poll also shows that many of those who want the health reform law repealed favor keeping many of its key components:
- Nearly two-thirds of poll respondents like that the law prevents insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
- 60 percent want to keep the provision of tax credits for small businesses that provide employees with health insurance.
- A little more than half support allowing children to remain on their parents' insurance until they are 26.
The poll surveyed 2,019 adults online between Nov. 19-23, 2010, and was conducted by Harris Interactive and HealthDay, a producer and syndicator of health news.
"Additional poll results indicate that many Americans want to repeal the bill not because they dislike the specifics, but because they feel it is an expensive expansion of an already big government," said Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll. "Eighty-one percent believe it will it result in higher taxes, could lead to rationing of healthcare (74 percent) and reduce the quality of care they will receive (77 percent)."
A previous HealthDay/Harris Interactive poll showed that Americans have little knowledge of the specifics of the more-than-2,500-page law.
"There's a substantial gap in the general public understanding (but) the more informed people are, the more they understand," said Thomas R. Oliver, professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
"I think this suggests that as the public becomes more familiar with the law and how it will benefit them and their families, support will probably climb," said Sara Collins, vice president for affordable health insurance at The Commonwealth Fund. "There's just a lag while immediate provisions are rolling out like young adult coverage."