Poll: 62% Agree With Supreme Court Obamacare Decision

Sixty-two percent (62%) of respondents agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s King v. Burwell decision, even though many Americans were not paying close attention to the case, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation reported last week.

The case centered on the question of whether individual insurance ratepayers were eligible for government subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, or whether those subsidies were available only in those states with their own marketplace exchanges. The Court ruled 6-3 that the subsidies extended to all states.

Respondents were asked June 25-29 a series of questions to determine their knowledge and opinions about the case. Thirty-nine percent (39%) were aware that the Court had announced its final ruling, with 30% correctly saying the court had ruled in favor of the subsidies, 4% saying it had not and 5% not knowing or refusing to answer.

Participants were told and then asked, “The Supreme Court recently decided to keep the health care law as it is so that low and moderate income people in all states can be eligible for financial help from the government to buy health insurance, regardless of the type of marketplace set up in their state. Do you approve or disapprove of the Court’s decision in this case?” In response, 62% said they approved of the decision, while 32% said they disapproved.

The decision was approved by 91% of those who have a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act, and by 82% of Democrats. The decision was disapproved by 63% of those who have an unfavorable view of the Affordable Care Act and by 62% of Republicans. Sixty-one percent (61%) of independents approved.

Asked how they felt about the decision, 15% said they were “enthusiastic” and 11% said they were “angry.” The rest fell somewhere in the middle, with 36% saying they were “satisfied but not enthusiastic” and 30% saying they were “disappointed but not angry.”

When those who disapproved of the decision were told that it would allow more than 6 million people to keep receiving subsidies, about one in eight changed their minds and approved of the decision.

But the decision did not change Americans’ minds about the Affordable Care Act in general. Forty-three percent (43%) said they viewed it favorably while 40% said they viewed it unfavorably – numbers statistically unchanged from recent months.

The Kaiser Foundation describes itself as “a non-partisan source of facts, analysis and journalism for policymakers, the media, the health policy community and the public.”

Click on this link to see more about the poll.