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New High: 77% Support Purchasing Health Insurance Across State Lines

Just over half of voters still have an unfavorable opinion of the new national health care law, though slightly more now support the government requiring all plans to cover the same set of medical procedures than they have since October. Voters still strongly support choice when it comes to health insurance.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% of Likely U.S. Voters rate the new law at least somewhat favorably, while 52% share an unfavorable opinion of it. This includes 16% with a Very Favorable view and 40% with a Very Unfavorable one. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Favorable reviews for the law are up from 42% earlier this month  and are the highest since mid-October. Unfavorables hit an all-time high of 58% in mid-November. Favorables fell to a record low of 36% in that same survey.

Forty-one percent (41%) now say the government should require every health insurance company and health insurance plan to cover the exact same set of medical procedures. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree, while 22% are undecided. That’s the highest level of support measured for government-established standards since early September,but voters remain more evenly divided on this question than they did for much of 2013.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of voters also still think employers and individuals should be allowed to buy insurance plans across state lines, something that is now prohibited by law. That’s up from 71% in the previous survey and is the highest level of support measured for this type of choice in Rasmussen Reports tracking. Eleven percent (11%) believe they should only be allowed to buy plans approved for their state. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on February 14-15, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Eighty-three percent (83%) of voters continue to believe that individuals should be able to choose between different types of insurance plans, including those with higher deductibles and lower premiums or lower deductibles and higher premiums. Just seven percent (7%) disagree. Another 10% are not sure.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) think individuals should be able to choose between different types of medical plans, including those that cost more and cover just about all procedures or those that cost less and only cover major procedures. Thirteen percent (13%) disagree, while slightly more (18%) are undecided.

Findings for both questions are in line with previous surveys.

Seventy-five percent (75%) of Democrats view Obamacare favorably, while 82% of Republicans and 58% of voters not affiliated with either party view the law unfavorably.

But strong majorities of voters of all partisan affiliations agree with ensuring personal choice when it comes to health insurance plans. Seventy percent (70%) of voters in President Obama’s party believe individuals and employers should be able to purchase health insurance across state lines.

Women have a slightly more favorable opinion of the health care law than men do.

Voters over 40 have a more negative view of the law than younger voters do.

Voters are a bit more critical of the U.S. health care system four months into Obamacare, but most still have high praise for their health insurance coverage and the care they personally receive 

Sixty percent (60%) of voters believe most of the current problems with the health care law are unlikely to be fixed within the next year.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on February 8-9, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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