Individuals' views on health law form hopes, predictions about the Supreme Court's decision

New polls from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Bloomberg explore what the public expects of the high court's proceedings.  

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Personal Views Color Public Opinion Of Health Law Court Case
Half the country hopes the Supreme Court will throw out the health law's mandate that Americans carry health insurance, according to a new poll released Wednesday. In what may be a sign of political wish fulfillment, half of Americans expect that the court will take that course when it takes up the case later this month. Only 33 percent of people expect the court will uphold the individual mandate, which has long been one of the least popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act (Rau, 3/14).

National Journal: Politics Drives People's Supreme Court Predications, Poll Finds
People who oppose the 2010 health care reform law think it will be struck down: 83 percent to 7 percent. And those who support it think it will stand, though by a smaller margin of 50 percent compared to 26 percent.  ... Twenty-two percent said that the most important factor shaping the justices' decision would be whether they hold liberal or conservative views, compared with 19 percent who credit analysis and interpretation of the law (Sanger-Katz, 3/14).

MedPage Today: ACA Poll: Public Short on Facts, Long on Opinions
Despite the administration's near-constant push to highlight the benefits of the law -- elimination of co-pays for preventive care, raising dependent health coverage to age 26 -- most people don't have real experience with ACA. When asked about their personal views of the law, 51% said they thought the individual mandate was unconstitutional; 28% thought it was constitutional; and the rest didn't know (Walker, 3/14). 

And, in another poll's findings -

Bloomberg: Supreme Court Seen Influenced By Politics In Health-Care Ruling
Three-quarters of Americans say the U.S. Supreme Court (1000L) will be influenced by politics when it rules on the constitutionality of a health-care law signed by President Barack Obama two years ago. The sentiment crosses party lines and is especially held by independents, 80 percent of whom say the court will not base its ruling solely on legal merits, according to a Bloomberg National Poll (Bykowicz and Stohr, 3/14).