Almost half of Americans say they are less likely to support lawmakers who are in favor of repealing ObamaCare, according to a new Hill-HarrisX poll.
The survey, released on Thursday, found that 47 percent of registered voters said they were less likely to cast a ballot for members of Congress who backed a lawsuit that aims to eliminate ObamaCare, compared to 28 percent of respondents who were more likely to support those lawmakers.
Twenty-six percent of voters said it doesn’t matter either way.
Older Americans and minorities were least likely to support lawmakers who favored the ObamaCare lawsuit. The poll found that 58 percent of respondents age 65 and older and 68 percent of African Americans were less inclined to back lawmakers who are opposed to ObamaCare.
President Trump
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in a lawsuit back by the Trump administration seeking to overturn the entire 2010 health care law.
The panel, which included two Republicans and one Democrat, indicated it might strike down ObamaCare’s individual mandate.
Under the mandate, Americans who did not buy health insurance had to pay a financial penalty, a provision that was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012 by calling it a tax. Congress later eliminated the financial penalty.
“If you no longer have the tax, why isn’t [the mandate] unconstitutional?” said Jennifer Elrod, a judge appointed by former President George W. Bush.
The judges were not clear about whether they would overturn the entire law.
Regardless of the outcome, Democrats will likely highlight the lawsuit in the 2020 elections and argue that Republicans are putting health care coverage at risk. More than 20 million Americans get their health care from the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare.
The survey of 1,001 voters was conducted online July 5-6. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
—Tess Bonn