Americans Favor Health Law Repeal by Double-Digit Margin, Poll Shows

In this May 4 photo, a CT is performed on a patient at Cook County Stroger Hospital in Chicago. (AP)

Nearly a year after the health care law was passed, most voters still favor repealing the overhaul -- by a double-digit margin, according to a new poll.

A Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday reveals most voters believe the law will increase the cost of health care, increase the federal deficit and erode the quality of care. Though the Obama administration stepped up its public defense of the law in advance of an unsuccessful repeal vote in the Senate, the numbers suggest many Americans are not accepting the administration's arguments.

The study found 58 percent of likely voters favor repeal to some degree, with 44 percent strongly supporting it. Thirty-seven percent oppose repeal, with 26 percent strongly opposing it.

The findings are similar to those in earlier Rasmussen surveys. In the latest poll, 56 percent said health care costs will go up under the law; 52 percent said quality will go down; and 58 percent said the law will increase the federal deficit -- something the Congressional Budget Office says is not the case.

Voters, however, don't have a chance to affect the health care debate until 2012. And Republicans are regrouping after their repeal bill passed the House but failed in the Senate last week. Instead, the battle plays out in the courts, as federal judges issue conflicting rulings that are almost certain to come before the Supreme Court.

The most recent ruling was issued last week by a Florida federal judge, who ruled that the individual mandate requiring people to buy health insurance is unconstitutional and that the law itself should be voided. The Obama administration is appealing the decision.

The Rasmussen poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Feb. 4-5. It had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.