KAISER: 90% of Americans STRONGLY SUPPORT the thing Republicans are trying to tear away in #TexasFoldEm this week

Wed, 09/05/2018 - 9:51am

I noted this back in June, and the numbers are virtually identical today:

In June 2018, President Trump’s administration announced – as part of a lawsuit known as Texas v. United States, brought by 20 Republican state attorneys general – it will no longer defend the ACA’s protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Yes, this is the #TexasFoldEm case which has oral arguments happening even as I'm typing this.

These provisions prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage based on a person’s medical history (known as guaranteed issue), and prohibit insurance companies from charging those with pre-existing conditions more for coverage (known as community rating). Texas v. United States will decide, among other things, whether both of these protections are unconstitutional and if they will be deemed invalid once the individual mandate penalty goes away starting January 1, 2019.

The majority of the public say it is “very important” to them that the ACA’s provisions protecting those with pre-existing conditions remain law. Three-fourths of the public say it is “very important” to them that the provision that prohibits health insurance companies from denying coverage because of a person’s medical history remains law. An additional fifteen percent say it is “somewhat important” this provision remains law. Similarly, about seven in ten say it is “very important” that the provision that prohibits health insurance companies from charging sick people more remains law, while an additional one in five (19 percent) say it is “somewhat important.”

Here's the key chart:

I suppose you could debate about whether "somewhat important" should count as "strongly" supporting these provisions, but the respondants did say it was "important", which certainly counts as "strongly" in my view.

Even more significant is that these numbers are solid even among Republicans:

Majorities, across party identification and household health status, say it is “very important” that these protections remain law. Nine in ten Democrats (86 percent), three-fourths of independents, and 58 percent of Republicans say it is “very important” that insurance companies cannot deny coverage because of a person’s medical history. Similarly, a majority (88 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of independents, and 56 percent of Republicans) say it is “very important” that health insurance companies cannot charge sick people more. Even among those living in households without anyone with pre-existing conditions – therefore, unlikely to be affected negatively by this change in policy – a majority say it is “very important” these protections remain.