The calendar says December, but the polls on health reform are beginning to look a lot like August.
The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll shows public views on the positive impact of reform have dropped to their lowest levels since late summer. While a majority of respondents (54 percent) continued to believe it was more important than ever that Congress pass legislation, a declining number believe reform will benefit them (35 percent) or the country as a whole (45 percent).
Three-quarters of Democrats want reform now; two-thirds of Republicans oppose it; and a slim majority (53 percent) of Independents favor it. Seniors continue to be one of the most skeptical groups, and were twice as likely to believe they’d be worse off under reform.
Legislative sausage making is never pretty, but a plurality of respondents believe Congress is functioning as usual. Partisan rancor tends to produce negative results in the polls about any issue, and we’ll be interested to see where these figures stand after Christmas and into the new year.
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