Most Americans say individual mandate is unconstitutional

Benefits Pro Reports:

“Though Americans remain split on how health reform is going, a new poll reveals most are sure on one thing—the law’s requirement for all Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a fine is unconstitutional.

A USA Today/ Gallup poll released Monday finds 72 percent of American adults say the individual mandate is unconstitutional—with 94 percent of Republicans saying so and 56 percent of Democrats agreeing.

And, 53 percent of voters polled in the battleground states—Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin—say  they would favor repealing the law if a Republican is elected president in November. Nationwide, 40 percent said they would favor repeal.

Not surprisingly, Republicans are stronger in their opposition toward health reform, overwhelmingly favoring repeal (87 percent) while Democrats oppose it (77 percent).

Still, most say the health reform law hasn’t yet personally affected them, with about equal proportions saying it has helped (12 percent) or hurt (16 percent) them.

But Americans are less optimistic the law will improve their family’s health care situation in the long run, with 38 percent expecting the law will make their situation worse.

Results for this USA Today/Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Feb. 20-21, 2012, on the Gallup Daily tracking survey, with a random sample of 1,040 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

More coverage of the individual mandate from BenefitsPro

  • Gov’t defends core of health reform
  • Small businesses oppose individual mandate
  • Supreme Court will hear health reform case
  • The individual mandate cheatsheet
  • Brokers weigh individual mandate”