The Supreme Court isn't supposed to pay a lot of attention to public opinion, but if any are still waffling over their upcoming decision in
King v. Burwell, they
might take notice.
By a margin of 55 percent to 38 percent, more people say the court should not take action to block federal subsidies in states that didn't set up their own exchanges, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. […]
Public opinion on providing subsidies splits in predictably partisan ways -- but not overwhelmingly so. Nearly two-thirds of Democrats (65 percent) say the court should not take action to block health insurance subsidies. Fifty-five percent of Republicans say the court should rule against the subsidies. Independents side with keeping subsidies, 57 percent to 36 percent.
This poll comes along with another on
attitudes toward the court, from CNN/ORC and news that just 50 percent of the public "trusts" the court on health care, and just 49 percent trusts the court on marriage equality.
While support for subsidies under the law remains quite high, hating on the law has just become habit. In the Post/ABC poll, "54 percent oppose, up six percentage points from a year ago. Support ties the record low of 39 percent, which was last hit in April 2012." In the CNN/ORC survey, "43% of Americans say they favor the law overall, matching its previous high for support last reached in May 2013. But the law remains broadly unpopular, with 55% opposed to it." Five years of ardent opposition from Republicans and mostly political coverage from the traditional media—focusing on that opposition rather than actual policy—seems to have set the public against the law, regardless of how or even if it's affecting their lives.