Poll: Americans split on Obamacare's individual mandate
As congressional Republicans unveil their new plan to overhaul the U.S. health care system, a new poll finds that Americans are sharply split over whether to eliminate Obamacare’s individual mandate.
Fifty percent of those surveyed in a CNN/ORC poll said they oppose scrapping the individual mandate, which requires that U.S. individuals have health insurance coverage; 48 percent favor getting rid of the mandate. (The survey was conducted before Republicans released their plan Monday evening.)
Views of the overall Obamacare law are equally mixed. Forty-six percent of those surveyed said they’re in favor of the existing law, while 49 percent are opposed. And 53 percent of those surveyed said they are unhappy with the prices they pay for health care, compared with 46 percent who are happy with what they currently pay.
More than half of voters favor a simultaneous repeal and replace of Obamacare: 59 percent said the White House and congressional Republicans should only repeal parts of the current law when they are able to implement a replacement.
Some aspects of the Obamacare law are still very popular with Americans, however: 87 percent, for example, say they would like to maintain provisions preventing people with pre-existing conditions from being turned down for coverage, and 61 percent would not support a bill that eliminates Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
CNN/ORC surveyed 1,025 adults from March 1-4, and the poll’s margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.