Poll: Support for Health Care Reforms Increases
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
Public support for President Obama's health care reforms has increased since they were signed into law in March, a new CBS News poll shows - 43 percent of Americans now support the measures, up from 32 percent.
However, more Americans - 47 percent - still disapprove of the new laws, according to the poll, conducted May 20 - 24. That's down from March, when 53 percent disapproved of the changes.
Approval of the bill has risen among Democrats, from 52 percent to 72 percent, as well as among independents, from 27 percent to 39 percent. Support among Republicans has stayed about the same at 14 percent.
The administration has tried to put some of the reforms into action quickly since the legislation was signed into law, so Americans would notice their impact.
Yet while support has generally gone up, there has been no change in how people expect health care reform will affect them personally. By more than two to one, Americans think it will hurt (36 percent) rather than help them (16 percent). Four in 10 expect it to have no effect.
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Poll: Most Americans Still Unfamiliar with Elena Kagan
Poll: Most Still Support Arizona Immigration Law
Poll: Public Opinion of Democratic Party at All-Time Low
Read the Complete Poll
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1054 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone May 20-24, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial 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 is higher.
This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
