New polls highlight the health law's uphill climb

A poll by the Wall Street Journal/NBC News found that many Americans still don't understand the overhaul and don't think it will help them. Also, A USA Today/Pew poll finds that the public view of this sweeping initiative is still very negative.

The Wall Street Journal: Health Law Faces Skepticism
New poll results show the depth of the Obama administration's challenge on the eve of the rollout of the federal health law's core provisions, as many Americans say they don't understand the law and don't think it will help them. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that even those lacking health insurance, who are supposed to be the law's biggest beneficiaries, generally believe it wouldn't do them much good (Radnofsky, 9/16).

NBC News: Poll: Obamacare Remains Highly Unpopular As Implementation Looms
A large number of Americans continue to adamantly oppose the nation's new health care law and believe it will produce damaging results, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Forty-four percent of respondents call the health-care law a bad idea, while 31 percent believe it's a good idea -- virtually unchanged from July's NBC/WSJ survey. By a 45 percent to 23 percent margin, Americans say it will have a negative impact on the country's health care system rather than a positive one (Murray, 9/16).

USA Today: USA Today/Pew Poll: Health Care Law Faces Difficult Future
Republican lawmakers have failed in dozens of attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but a new USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll shows just how difficult they have made it for President Obama's signature legislative achievement to succeed. As the health care exchanges at the heart of the law open for enrollment in two weeks, the public's views of it are as negative as they have ever been, and disapproval of the president's handling of health care has hit a new high (Page, 9/16).

The Hill: Citing Poll, Right Argues It's Winning Obamacare Defunding Fight
Conservatives claim a new poll shows they are winning the battle over defunding Obamacare. The CNN poll released this week found only 39 percent of voters hold favorable views of the healthcare law (Viebeck, 9/15).