Majority of residents don’t like health reform

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More than half of the respondents to the Wisconsin Public Radio/St. Norbert College Survey don’t like recently passed health care legislation. And they say the reform package will influence their votes come November.

Fifty-three percent of respondents say they oppose the health care reform law. Wendy Scattergood is a St. Norbert College Political Scientist, and an analyst with the survey center.

She says opposition is to be expected after any major reforms in Washington. Health care is no exception, though she predicts the complaints may die down before the fall’s congressional election, since major changes won’t impact people until later.

Of those who oppose the healthcare legislation, most – 70 percent – say it goes too far. Only 14 percent felt it doesn’t go far enough.

The legislation could hurt Democrats running for re-election in November. All of the state’s Democrats in Congress voted for the reforms. All Republicans voted against it.

Roughly one-third of the survey respondents say that won’t influence their decision at the ballot box. But more – or 43 percent -- say they will not vote to re-elect representatives who supported the measure.

Scattergood says it’s up to opposition groups to maintain that momentum through the summer. She says “groups like the Tea Party will have to keep people whipped up against healthcare reform, otherwise they will move on to other issues.”

The survey polled 400 people in Wisconsin, randomly selected from those who have landline telephones.

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