Only 55 Percent Understand Health Care Ruling
Even though 76 percent have an opinion, slightly more than half actually know what the justices decided.
Posted Tuesday, July 3, 2012, at 12:10 PM
Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images
A new Pew Research Center poll finds that the American public is very interested in last week’s Supreme Court decision on the 2010 health care law. A reported 76 percent of Americans decisively approve or disapprove of the court’s decision, despite that only 55 percent actually know what the court decided.
Pew’s numbers show the same division of opinion that has characterized public perception of the law since its inception. Four in 10 Americans say they disapprove of the decision, roughly mirrored by 36 percent who support it, with a quarter of respondents offering no opinion. Meanwhile, more than half of respondents knew that the court upheld most of the Affordable Care Act, while 15 percent incorrectly said that the court rejected most provisions and 30 percent did not know.
By far the most popular single-word reaction to the decision was “disappointed,” followed by “surprised.” About 45 percent of Americans followed the story closely, which, as Politico points out, is a notably high level of public interest. Last week’s other key events, the SCOTUS ruling on Arizona’s immigration law and the Attorny General Eric Holder contempt vote, were followed closely by just 29 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
Although the decision did little to bolster President Obama’s approval rating, an ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that he’s at least leading his opponent in approval of approach to health care. Just 30 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of Mitt Romney’s health care plan, while 45 percent have confidence in the president's approach. Conversely, 48 percent of voters have unfavorable opinions of the health care policies of each candidate.
Meanwhile, CNN/ORC released poll results Monday showing that Obama and Romney are running pretty much even, with 49 percent of voters favoring Obama and 47 the Republican candidate. The ruling is likely to have some positive reverberations for Obama come November; in the wake of the decision, six out of 10 Democrats are enthusiastic about voting this year, up from just 46 percent in March, the Hill writes.
