Polls: Americans Like SCOTUS’ Obamacare Ruling — But Opponents Are Stubborn

Two new polls show that Americans overwhelmingly approve of the Supreme Court’s decisive ruling last week on the Affordable Care Act.

The court ruled 6-3 in King v. Burwell that the federal government can continue to provide subsidies to help pay for insurance policies in states where it (rather than the states) has set up the exchange marketplace. The case could possibly be the last significant legal challenge to President Obama’s signature health care law.

The Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Wednesday found that 62 percent of Americans approve of this decision, against only 32 percent of respondents who disapproved.

In addition, a CNN poll released Tuesday found that Americans favored the ruling by a similar margin, with 63 percent in favor versus only 34 percent against it.

At the same time, the Kaiser poll also found that those who disapprove of the decision largely remain set in their views even if it is explained that the decision will help people. For those 32 percent who disapproved, a follow-up question was asked:

What if you heard that as a result of the decision, more than 6 million people in states using the federal marketplace will keep the financial help they have been getting to pay for health insurance? Would you still say you disapprove of the Court’s decision or would you now say you approve?

The result: Out of those 32 percent, only 4 percentage points switch to approve of the decision, 25 percent still disapprove, and the remainder are undecided.

And remember: Those 25 percent who still disapprove of universal access to health insurance will likely make up a large share of Republican primary voters.

Photo: SEIU International via Flickr