Poll: Emotional Responses to Health Care Divided Along Party Lines

03/24/2010

While health care reform received the majority of votes in the U.S. House of Representatives, the recent bill has not experienced similar popularity among the American public.

Forty-nine percent of respondents in a USA Today/Gallup poll said the bill was a "good thing," while 40% said it was not. The poll was conducted on March 22, the day after reform passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.

82% of Democrats said they were enthusiastic or pleased about the bill's passage, while 11% indicated a negative response. This compares to the 16% of Republicans who had a positive reaction, while 79% said they were angry or disappointed.

Still, this week's reactions were more positive than those reported in an earlier Gallup poll when 45% of respondents were in favor of the bill, compared with the 48% who opposed it.

"Whether these groups' views on the issue harden or soften in the coming months could be crucial to how health care reform factors into this year's midterm elections," the report said.

The Democrats currently hold the majority in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. A separate Gallup poll showed that Americans were less favorable of their effort toward health care compared with those of President Barack Obama.

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