The survey asked how much respondents favored or opposed a health insurance mandate using five different wordings (See the Topline Results below). Half of respondents support a mandate when it is presented as a “requirement” or “a federal requirement” (see Figure 1). In contrast, 62% support “the federal requirement, signed by President Barack Obama.” Two other versions asking about “a state requirement” (supported by 54%) or “the state requirement, signed by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney” (supported by 56%) receive lower support than the federal version mentioning Obama.

The Center’s Coordinator for Public Opinion Initiatives, David Wilson said, “The results suggest that President Obama may actually have more political capital for his health insurance requirement than is widely reported.”

National Survey Shows Public Is Deeply Divided on Health Insurance Mandate

June 22, 2012

For more information or to discuss the results, contact:
Andrea Boyle Tippett
Office of Communication and Marketing
(302) 831-1421

As the United States Supreme Court prepares to rule on the constitutionality of the 2010 health care law, a new National Agenda Opinion Poll by the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication reveals Americans are divided along party and ideology lines on a key provision of the law. Democrats and liberals overwhelmingly favor insurance mandates at both the federal and state levels, whereas large majorities of Republicans and conservatives oppose either type of mandate. 

The national telephone survey of 906 Americans was conducted by the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication from May 20-June 6, 2012. Research faculty David C. Wilson and Paul Brewer supervised the study.

About the study

The National Agenda Opinion Project research was funded by the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication. The study was supervised by the CPC’s Coordinator for Public Opinion Initiatives, David C. Wilson, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, and the CPC’s Associate Director for Research, Paul Brewer, a professor in the Department of Communication.

Method

Results are based on telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 906 adults living in the continental United States. Telephone interviews were carried out using a dual sampling frame consisting of both landline (n=551) and cell phone (n=355, including 158 without a landline phone) extensions. The survey was managed by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI), and the data were collected through English only interviews by Princeton Data Source. The data were collected from May 30 to June 5, 2012. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is ± 3.9 percentage points. This estimate includes a calculated “design effect.” Readers should be aware that in addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls. Please contact David C. Wilson at (302) 831-1935 for more details about the survey’s methodology.

Question wording

Question wording

Question wording and Topline Frequencies (* Totals may not sum to exactly 100% due to rounding)

ASK FORM A:

Q22a.    Do you favor or oppose a requirement that all people have health insurance?

47%    Favor

46%    Oppose

4%    Don’t know (VOL.)

3%    Refused (VOL.)

ASK FORM B:

Q22b.    Do you favor or oppose a federal requirement that all Americans have health insurance?

49%    Favor

49%    Oppose

1%    Don’t know (VOL.)

0%    Refused (VOL.)

ASK FORM C:

Q22c.    Do you favor or oppose a state requirement that all state residents have health insurance?

51%    Favor

44%    Oppose

3%    Don’t know (VOL.)

2%    Refused (VOL.)

ASK FORM D:

Q22d.    Do you favor or oppose the federal requirement, signed by President Barack Obama, that all Americans have health insurance?

59%    Favor

37%    Strongly oppose

4%    Don’t know (VOL.)

0%    Refused (VOL.)

ASK FORM E:

Q19e.    Do you favor or oppose the state requirement, signed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, that all Americans have health insurance?

53%    Favor

41%    Oppose

5%    Don’t know (VOL.)

1%    Refused (VOL.)

Paul Brewer

A closer look at the results reveals wide gaps between Republicans and Democrats (see Figure 2) and between liberals and conservatives (see Figure 3) on all five versions of the question. For each version, support among Democrats and liberals is much greater than support among Republicans and conservatives. Democrats and liberals are more likely to support a state requirement than a federal requirement, but when Mitt Romney’s name is mentioned they support a state requirement less. Republicans and conservatives tend to support requirements by Obama and Romney more than the generic idea of a state or federal requirement without a political figure’s name attached.

Wilson said, “The findings among Republicans and conservatives suggest they do not draw the same distinction between state and federal mandates that Romney has drawn in his campaign.”

Researchers also found that women are significantly more likely to support health insurance requirements than men, particularly at the federal level. Women show their strongest support for a federal health care requirement signed by Obama (See Figure 4). They support state level requirements at the same level as men, whether Romney is mentioned or not.

The Center’s Associate Director for Research, Paul Brewer said, “The results suggest that the Supreme Court’s decision will drop into a highly charged political environment, not only because of the upcoming election but also because of the dramatic political divide on the mandate issue. No matter what the Supreme Court does, its ruling will go against the views of a sizable portion of the public. Public opinion about a mandate is deeply polarized along partisan and ideological lines.”

David Wilson

Partisan divide

Gender gap

The fine print