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NBC News/WSJ Poll: Public Overwhelmingly Disapproves of House Health Care Bill

Even Republican respondents in the poll are lukewarm about the House GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Image: Healthcare Protest
Protesters shout at lawmakers walking out of the Capitol on May 4, 2017 in Washington. FileNicholas Kamm / AFP - Getty Images

Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of the House plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

This new poll comes as Senate Republicans unveil their own health care legislation on Thursday. While the Senate bill shares some similarities to the House version, it also contains differences.

By a 3-to-1 margin, the American public holds a negative view of the American Health Care Act, legislation that House Republicans passed last month and that President Donald Trump supports.

Just 16 percent of adults believe that House health care bill is a good idea, versus 48 percent who say it’s a bad idea.

In May’s NBC/WSJ poll, it was 23 percent good idea, 48 percent bad idea.

Strikingly, even Republican respondents in the poll are lukewarm about the House bill, with only 34 percent viewing it positively (and 17 percent viewing it negatively).

By contrast, 73 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of independents view it negatively.

According to the new poll, the public views the 2010 Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare”) in a more positive light. Forty-one percent say it’s a good idea, versus 38 percent who say it’s a bad idea.

This is the third-straight NBC/WSJ poll of 2017 in which Obamacare is viewed more positively than negatively.

Asked if Congress and the president should continue their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the public is divided — with 38 percent saying yes, and 39 percent saying no; 20 percent have no opinion.

Not surprisingly, the responses break among partisan lines: Republicans support repeal by a 71 percent-to-12 percent margin, while Democrats oppose it, 67 percent to 11 percent. Independents slightly favor repeal, 38 percent to 32 percent.

The rest of the NBC/WSJ poll — which was conducted June 17-20 of 900 adults, and which has an overall margin of error of plus-minus of 3.3 percentage points — will be released later on Thursday.