While majority Democrats in Congress struggle to put together a final health care reform plan, just 22% of U.S. voters believe that most members of Congress will understand what is in the plan before they vote on it.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 55% think most members of Congress will not understand what is in the health care plan before casting their vote. Twenty-three percent (23%) aren't sure.

Forty-six percent (46%) of voters say it is at least somewhat likely that most members will have read the health care reform bill proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats before they vote on it, but just 12% say that's very likely to be the case.

Most voters say it's unlikely that most members of Congress will have read the bill before voting: 40% say it's not very likely, and another 13% say it's not at all likely.

This skepticism is fed in part by the fact that most voters think they already understand the health care plan better than the average member of Congress. Fifty-one percent (51%) rate their understanding of the plan as good or excellent but only 22% say the same for Congress.

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Eighty-three percent (83%) of voters say all legislation should be posted online in final form and available for everyone to read before Congress votes on it. The only exception would be for extreme emergencies.

The partisan divide over the level of Congress' understanding is perhaps predictable, with congressional Democrats pushing the health reform effort and facing the very real possibility that no Republicans will vote for the final plan.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Republicans and 63% of voters not affiliated with either major party do not believe that most members of Congress will understand what is in the plan before they vote on it. Democrats are almost evenly divided on the question.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of Democratic voters say it is at least somewhat likely that most members of Congress will have read the health care reform bill before they vote on it. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Republicans and 64% of unaffiliateds say that is not very or not at all likely.

Only 41% of voters nationwide now favor the health care reform plan, the lowest level of support yet measured. Fifty-six percent (56%) now oppose it.

Before the vote in February on the $787-billion economic stimulus plan, 58% of voters said most members of Congress would not understand what was in the plan before they voted on it. One prominent Senate Democrat, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, complained that that would happen, given the way his party's leadership rushed the stimulus plan through Congress. Thirty-six percent (36%) of voters now say the stimulus plan helped the economy, while 28% say it has hurt the economy. Another 28% say the stimulus has had no impact thus far.

Of the priorities that the president outlined earlier this year, Democrats see health care reform as the most important, more enthusiastically than ever. Republicans and unaffiliated voters say deficit reduction is most important.

Forty-two percent (42%) of voters say a group of people randomly selected from the phone book would do a better job than the current Congress, but an identical number (42%) disagree.

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