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POLITICS

Most Voters Fear Health Care Law Will Cause Some Companies To Drop Employee Coverage

Nearly three-out-of-four voters (73%) believe it is at least somewhat likely that the new health care law will cause some companies to drop health insurance coverage for their employees, including 47% who say it is Very Likely. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds that just 19% think that’s unlikely.

While 84% of Mainstream voters it is at least somewhat likely that some companies will drop health insurance coverage for their employees, most Political Class voters (52%) say that is not likely to occur (see more on the Political Class-Mainstream divide).

To address the reality of some companies threatening to drop coverage, the Obama administration announced last week that 30 companies and organizations - including McDonalds and the union for New York City teachers - have been granted one-year waivers from certain requirements of the new national health care law.

But voters don’t think such waivers are the way to go. Only 21% believe it is better for the government to grant business exemptions to the health care law on a case-by-case basis. Sixty-four percent (64%) disagree and say the better course is for the law to be revised so that it can apply to all businesses. Fifteen percent (15%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Similarly, 64% think if a group of large companies receives an exemption from certain aspects of the health care law, all businesses should be given that same exemption. Only 19% disagree, with 18% more who are not sure.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on October 10-11, 2010 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.

How do voters feel in general about exemptions from the requirements of the new health care law? Become a Platinum Member and find out. 

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