Poll: Most want Supreme Court to overturn individual health care mandate

Artist's rendering shows Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. speaking in front of the Supreme Court, March 27, 2012, as the court held hearings on President Obama's health care law.

/ AP Photo/Dana Verkouteren

CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.

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Updated 10 a.m. ET

A new CBS News/New York Times poll reveals that nearly seven in ten Americans want the Supreme Court to overturn either all or President Obama's health care law or strike down just the individual mandate.

In the poll released on Thursday, 41 percent of those polled think Mr. Obama's health care law should be overturned completely by the Supreme Court, with another 27 percent of respondents saying they want the court to keep the law but overturn the mandate.

Nearly one-quarter - twenty-four percent - of respondents want the entire law upheld. The margin of error is three percentage points.

The percentage that wants to see the entire law abolished is up slightly since April, when 37 percent said they wanted the court to overturn the full law, 29 percent said only the mandate should be overturned and 23 percent wanted the whole law upheld.

As the Supreme Court decision on the health care law is expected this month, the new poll shows that Republicans are much more likely to want the entire law overturned than Democrats, with 67 percent wanting the law to be overturned compared to 20 percent of Democrats. While 42 percent of Democrats say they want the entire law to be upheld, 42 percent of Independent respondents say they want the Supreme Court to overturn the whole law. Tea Party supporters are especially likely to want the entire law to be overturned -- 70 percent support that.

While a plurality of Americans want the health care law to be overturned, a CBS News/ New York Times Poll conducted in March found some parts of the law are popular: 85 percent said insurance companies should cover people with pre-existing conditions and nearly seven in ten supported children under 26 staying on their parents' health plan. Still, the requirement that nearly all Americans obtain health insurance was less popular in that poll: 45 percent approved of that, while 51 percent disapproved.

Read the complete poll (PDF)

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This poll was conducted by telephone from May 31-June 3, 2012 among 976 adults nationwide. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[fxr60]

Healthcare WILL be a tax on everyone, the CBO estimates that 4 million people will have to pay. A panel of Doctors was on Huckabee's TV show and they said that 8 out of 10 doctors would quit if Obamacare goes through-there will be so much red tape and forms to fill our that they won't have time for the patients and one Dr. said if he forgets to put down one date on the chart he could be fined $11,000. and other fines could go into the millions. On top of this the healthcare WILL be rationed, there will NOT be enough doctors and the elderly will be the ones that will get the less care because of more serious health issues. I lived in Europe and it takes MONTHS to see a Specialist. Did you know that 46,000 people from Canada came to the USA last year for serious operations? They could die waiting to get operations for heart, kidney transplants, diabetes-any life threating disorder. It is NOT a good thing-it IS SOCIALIZED medicene and we can do better!!!!!

[infantryman1968]

Poll: Most want Supreme Court to overturn individual health care mandate


LOL!


Obama knew this before he was elected.

The Irony.

[wadem7-2009]

7 states have already tried universal coverage without a mandate and all 7 found it doesn't work. Individuals game the system. Only purchasing insurance when they become sick which defeats the cost savings mechanism of "shared risk". Premiums become too high. Private insurance companies stopped offering policies in these states. Insurance only works when everyone has it. Why should we permit those who can afford insurance to opt out without penalty? As we have witnessed with motorcycle helmet laws, those who believe they will never have an accident and end up with extremely high costs in the ER force the rest of us to pay their way. We can't allow this. Either mandate insurance or allow hospitals and physicians to opt out of treating these freeloaders.

[Maerzie]

It should read: "Most have been TOLD they better not want the new healthcare because it cuts into the profits of the wealthy, many of who are invested in this (formerly?) lucrative rip-off field." We are already going to be receiving our portions of the $1.1 BILLION dollar rebate from only ONE of the scams that has already been caught. All this from only ONE of the scams already found by the Affordable Care Act workers, which did not meet the new federal requirement of paying the correct percentage of the haul they made on premiums, to pay off legitimate medical claims. Portions of this rebate will go to people or employers who bought health insurance. The average rebate will be about $151 dollars and will go to 12.8 million people who have paid premiums to these rip-off companies.

[dmhphils]

Welcome to Obamaland where money grows on trees and there is plenty of pie in the sky....it's really Utopia at last!

[Maerzie]

Most people, who take the quiz about exactly WHAT is IN the Affordable Care Act, FLUNK it! They have been told so many lies, that they have been brainwashed to believe, that there are very few who know anything about the actual benefits. Investors WANTED people to hate it, but those who have felt its impact, LOVE IT! It seems the investors are the only ones who REALLY didn't want it cuz it cuts into their profits from all the scams. There will be no more $100 dollar aspirins on anyone's hospital bill anymore, for sure! I'm thinking I'm going to love it because I'll FINALLY get something out of the high premiums I've been paying.

[bigmanfrommaine]

Nobody wants the health care bill because no one believes they will get sick.

People are so dumb.

[ehjay35]

Such a poll is meaningless without first determining that the respondent clearly understands the topic that he is being polled on. Publishing a meaningless poll simply adds to the ignorance of the public.

[watkinsjr2000]

This poll shows that 67% of respondents want the individual mandate in the health care reform law repealed. Any middle class person who favors such a thing is an idiot who just doesn't comprehend the health insurance crisis that has existed in this country for years. Without an individual mandate it will be impossible for insurance companies to community rate & cover people with pre-existing conditions at a remotely affordable price. The insurance pool will simply be too small & sick to allow that.Without the individual mandate the status quo of 45 million Americans & growing without health insurance remains. Without the mandate, America remains the only advanced country on earth whose citizens routinely face financial ruin if they happen to develop a serious illness. And without the individual mandate Americans find their very lives left at the mercy of health insurance companies whose only goal is to turn a profit (in other words "Death Panels" from hell).I simply don't understand why so many people can't grasp these realities (or choose to ignore them).They are fools being snowed into acting totally against their own best interests.I find their gullibility sickening !!

[anebt]

Money doesn't grow on trees. The subsidies to help people purchase plans are too little and will leave them without the ability to pay for the rest of the premiums plus living expenses. Secondly, a local plan offered by many cities coupled with catastrophic plans is much cheaper.

Then we have the Medicaid expansion. How are states going to pay for all the newly enrolled recipients? Most doctors in my state won't even take Medicaid. The newly enrolled won't be able to find a doctor.

[Maerzie]

I never got polled for this, so how many others, like me, never got polled either? Polls turn out whichever way the pollsters want them to turn out! All the polls I designed in college came out exactly the way I planned, as expected.

[davidzurbina]

I believe this is correct. I also believe this is the kind of plan that we are likley to end up with, though somewhat less generous as it will be forced on us by our creditors who won't give a hair about healthcare for seniors and the needy. Read "************" articles if you dont have insurance.

[JEngdahlJ]

The PPACA individual mandate is strong for lower income people; weaker for households with income approaching 300% FPL (Federal Poverty Level.) http://www.healthcaretownhall.com/?p=4891