American Opinion on Health Reform Shaped Along Party Lines

A poll of more than 2,500 adults from Harris Interactive/HealthDay found that views on the Affordable Care Act fall along political party lines. Coming about a week before Election Day, 31 percent of poll respondents said that they want the law repealed in its entirety, 27 percent want to keep the reform law in its entirety, and 22 percent want only parts of it to remain in force. Unsurprisingly, 63 percent of Republicans want the law fully repealed while 49 percent of Democrats want to keep it intact and 19 percent want to keep some parts of the law.

However, a majority of the electorate wants to keep at least some portion of the law intact. The poll found that 70 percent of participants want to keep the part of the law that prevents insurers from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions. The individual mandate, however, remains largely unpopular; 55 percent of respondents oppose it. An additional provision that continues its popularity is the one allowing children to remain on their parents’ insurance plan until reaching the age of 26.

Some health insurance giants, such as UnitedHealth Group, Humana, and Aetna, have said they would continue with the popular provisions even if the law was to be overturned. Said Harris Poll chairman Humphrey Taylor, “This survey indicates that many people can have different attitudes to the forest—the big picture—and to the trees—the specifics.”