Health law action at the high court takes a political toll

Findings from a new poll indicate that the public felt less favorable about both the health law and the Supreme Court after last week's oral arguments.

Politico: Poll: The High Court And Health Care
Almost two in three people, 63 percent, said what they saw and heard about the Supreme Court hearings on the health care law didn't change their opinion of the measure, according to a Pew Research Center-Washington Post survey. Still, 23 percent said they had a less favorable view of the divisive law after the three-day hearings, compared with 7 percent who said they had a more favorable opinion after last week (Lee, 4/3).

The Hill: Poll: Supreme Court Arguments On Health Law Reinforced Partisan Divide
But when attitudes did shift, they followed a partisan division. According to the Pew poll, 35 percent of Republicans said they came away with a less favorable impression of the health law, and 32 percent of Democrats reported a more negative view of the Supreme Court (Baker, 4/2).

The Washington Post: Behind The Numbers: Political Fallout: High Court Showdown Hurts Health Care Law, And Justices
Almost four in 10 Republicans who followed the hearings "very" or "somewhat" closely say they are less favorable toward the health care law. The same number of attentive Democrats -; 39 percent -; say they now have lower regard for the Supreme Court (Cohen, Craighill and Clement, 4/2).

The Washington Post: The Fact Checker: 'Obamacare' And Rising Health Insurance Premiums
Be wary of the single data point, exploited either by Democrats or Republicans. This new RNC ad slams the Obama health care law for already causing a boost in health care premiums. … The ad, repeating the myth that the law is a "health care takeover," also asserts that costs in one part of the health care law are soaring, a claim we have debunked before. ... We offer no defense of Obama's claim that his health care law will reduce premiums by $2,500 (Kessler, 4/2).