Pollsters: Negative View of #ObamaCare Could Give Edge to Republicans in 2014

Well, this is getting to be a broken record at this point. Just bring it in November I say.

At National Journal:

A new survey finds that a strong contingent of Americans still don't like Obamacare, and that intensity is likely to bring out more votes for Republicans than Democrats this fall.

Democrat Peter Hart and Republican Bill McInturff, the lead pollsters of the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, presented their new analysis at an annual insurance industry conference Thursday. According to their numbers, 2014 could be shaping up to be a Republican year, a cause for concern for Democrats who could lose the Senate majority over close reelection bids.

"The law has become like Velcro," McInturff said at the America's Health Insurance Plans conference. "Anything bad that happens in health care now is attributed to the health care law."

When asked about the coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act—such as protection for consumers with preexisting conditions—44 percent of voters said they feel hopeful. But 51 percent said they feel fearful when hearing about the possibility that premiums will go up, that some Americans are losing their current coverage, and that employer-sponsored insurance may change.

"Any off-year election is about one thing: turnout," Hart said. "Intensity on these issues makes all the difference in the world."

It's why the Obama administration is doing all it can to prevent negative personal stories from cropping up between now and the election, McInturff said, such as this week's announcement allowing plans that do not meet the law's coverage requirements to be renewed for two additional years. Administration officials denied that the delay had any political motives.

The Democrats' major problem in 2014 may be that there's not enough time to repair the negative impression people have about the Affordable Care Act, McInturff said.

"After hearing more about the health care law, voters become more supportive, but opinion remains a modest net negative," McInturff said.

Some 9 percent of people said a candidate's position on the health care law is the most important factor in determining how they will vote, while 51 percent of people said it is a major factor, and only 10 percent said it is not a factor at all.

More.