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WASHINGTON (Reuters) Wed., Nov 16, 2011 — As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to review President Obama's health care reform, more Americans want to it repealed than want to keep it, a poll released on Wednesday shows.
A Gallup survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults finds that 47% favor the repeal of health care reform, versus 42% who want the law kept in place. Eleven percent had no opinion.
But the survey also shows that 50% of Americans believe the federal government has a responsibility to make sure everyone has health coverage, compared with 46% who do not.
The results, which have a 4 percentage point margin of error, suggest a sharply divided U.S. public as the Supreme Court prepares to begin hearing legal arguments next March from 26 states and an independent business group that want the law struck down as unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court would be expected to rule by July.
Advocates of the reforms say the law will reduce the soaring growth of health care costs over time and provide medical care to millions of families who currently have no protection.
The November 3-6 Gallup poll also shows a small reduction in public support for private insurance as the basis for gaining medical services in the $2.6 trillion U.S. health care system.
The findings said 56% of adults continue to prefer private insurance versus 39% who would favor a government-run system. That compares with a 61% to 34% margin a year ago.
(Reporting by David Morgan; editing by Philip Barbara)
© 2010 Thomson Reuters.
