Support for Health Care Legislation Has Stopped Falling, But Most Still Opposed

As August winds down, the good news for President Obama and congressional Democrats is that support for their proposed health care legislation has stopped falling. The bad news is that most voters oppose the plan.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey show that 43% of voters nationwide favor the plan working its way through Congress while 53% are opposed. Those figures are virtually identical to results from two weeks ago .

As has been true since the debate began, those opposed to the congressional overhaul feel more strongly about the legislation than supporters. Forty-three percent (43%) now Strongly Oppose the legislation while 23% Strongly Favor it. Those figures, too, are similar to results from earlier in August.

While supporters of the reform effort say it is needed to help reduce the cost of health care, 52% of voters believe it will have the opposite effect and lead to higher costs. Just 17% believe the plans now in Congress will reduce costs. This is a critical point at a time when voters see deficit reduction as more important than health care reform .

Additionally, by a 50% to 23% margin, voters believe the proposed reforms would make the quality of care worse rather than better. Voter skepticism of Congress remains high. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer recently penned an article advocating health care reform, but most voters were skeptical about the benefits they claim would result from its passage . (Want a free daily e-mail update ? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook .

Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters believe that passage of the legislation is still at least somewhat likely. Forty-one percent (41%) say it's not likely. Those figures include just 17% who say it is Very Likely and nine percent (9%) who say it is Not at All Likely, leaving the vast majority of voters somewhere in between.

Obama's job approval ratings as measured in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll have slipped in August as the health care debate has moved to center stage. So has support for congressional Democrats . House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's national unfavorable ratings have jumped to new highs .

Congress returns from its recess on September 8, and Democratic congressional leaders have vowed to pass some form of the health care plan when they return to Washington. Many town hall meetings held by congressmen have turned into protest sessions, and congressional leaders are considering procedural steps for Democrats to pass the bill on their own. If Democrats can agree on a plan that would not attract any Republican votes, 24% believe they should pass that legislation . Most (58%) say they should change the bill to attract a reasonable number of Republican votes in Congress.

It might be a challenge to win GOP votes in Congress because 87% of Republican voters around the country oppose the current legislation. That figure includes 74% who are Strongly Opposed. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 55% oppose the legislation including 47% who Strongly Oppose it.

Among Democrats, 75% support the plan including 48% who Strongly Favor it.

As for the protesters at congressional town hall meetings , 49% believe they are genuinely expressing the views of their neighbors, while 37% think they've been put up to it by special interest groups and lobbyists.

One reason the town hall protests have become so intense is that just 22% of voters believe Congress has a good understanding of the health care legislation .

The latest tracking survey was conducted over two nights, the nights before and after news reports covering the death of Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy. Some advocates of reform have suggested that his passing might become a rallying point for the legislation. However, support for the legislation before and after Kennedy's death was virtually identical. Among the public, there was no increase in support or opposition.

Last summer , 50% of voters nationwide had a favorable opinion of Kennedy while 45% had an unfavorable view. Like the health care reform he championed to the end, Democrats gave Kennedy rave reviews. He was viewed favorably by 79% of those in his own party and unfavorably by 77% of Republicans. Opinions among those not affiliated with either major party was more divided: 44% favorable and 49% unfavorable.

Ironically, as Congress has debated reforms to the U.S. health care system, Americans have begun to show greater confidence in that system . Forty-eight percent (48%) of adults now say the health care system is good or excellent, and only 19% say it's poor.

In a Wall Street Journal column , Scott Rasmussen notes that "the most important fundamental [in the health care debate] is that 68% of American voters have health insurance coverage they rate good or excellent." Rasmussen, the founder and president of Rasmussen Reports, explains that "in political terms, the most important reality will be how the reform affects the 68% who say they have good or excellent health insurance coverage. If they end up having to change their coverage, pay significantly higher taxes or encounter some other unpleasant reality, congressional Democrats will look back on this August as a time when they should have listened more closely to the folks back home."

 ©2008 Rasmussen Reports Inc.