Americans continue to support key elements of the legislation, including a mandate that employers provide health insurance to their workers and access to a government-sponsored insurance plan for those people without insurance.
Over the past few months, public opinion has solidified, leaving Obama and the Democrats with the political challenge of enacting one of the most ambitious pieces of domestic legislation in decades in the face of a nation split over the wisdom of doing so. In the new poll, 48 percent say they support the proposed changes; 49 percent are opposed. [...]
As in previous polls, a majority supports a government-sponsored heath insurance plan to compete with private insurers, although the percentage supporting the general idea has slipped slightly over the past month to 53 percent. Support for the scheme jumps to 72 percent when the public plan is limited to those who lack access to coverage through an employer or the Medicare or Medicaid systems.
I think Americans are divided about overall reform because they still don't know what the final bill will look like. There have been many different bills (Senate, House, Finance committee, etc) and countless amendments. Plus, every week it changes: public option in or out, no coverage for abortions, employer mandates, etc. Not to mention, politicians on both sides of the aisle and numerous special interest groups have been trying to sway public opinion for months, but mostly have only succeeded in muddling the key points.
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