Poll Watch: Amercians Evenly Split Over Urgency for Obamacare Health Care Reform

Forty-four percent (44%) of Americans say the Obama administration should wait on health care reform until the economy improves.

But 43% say health care reform should move ahead now, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of 10,000 adults nationwide. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure which course is best.

Despite the president’s stepped-up efforts to promote his health care reform agenda with the public, these numbers have changed little from the beginning of the month when 46% favored moving ahead while 45% said wait until the economy improves. In early March, 49% said health care reform should wait for a better economy, but 42% wanted to go ahead.

As expected, the partisan divide is huge. Sixty-four percent (64%) of Democrats say the administration should go ahead with health reform, but 69% of Republicans favor waiting until the economy gets better. Among adults not affiliated with either party, 41% want to move ahead now, but 45% want to wait for a better economy.

Women favor moving ahead slightly more than men, as do younger Americans. Those working in the private sector favor waiting more than government employees.

Americans are more concerned with their jobs and the support of their families, especially if they already have medical insurance provided by their employers, than redistributing health care to others.

Obamacare will have a tough time ahead in the Congress. There is NOT overwhelming public support and then there is the issue of the burdensome cost.

I say there is a less than 50 per cent chance of any substantial health care reform coming out of the Congress this summer.