A majority of the American public wants the Supreme Court to protect the subsidies that allow millions of people to pay for their health insurance, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll released Monday, The Hill reported.
The subsidies of approximately 7.5 million Americans could be taken away if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the plaintiff in the King v. Burwell trial. King's argument in the case challenges the legality of offering people subsidies in states that rely on HealthCare.gov and have not set up their own state exchanges.
Over half of Americans — 56 percent — want the Supreme Court justices to uphold the subsidies, while 39 percent want subsidies reserved for individual state marketplaces. According to the report, two-thirds of Democrats want the government to continue offering subsidies in all states, compared to 31 percent of Republicans.
The poll also found that in general, the public does not have much faith in the court on this issue, with 48 percent of total poll respondents indicating they are not confident the court will determine a ruling based on "objective interpretations of the law" over their personal opinions on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as a whole. Fewer — 39 percent — said they are moderately confident the justices can disregard personal beliefs, and 10 percent are very or extremely confident they can, according to The Hill.
Doubt that the Supreme Court can rule objectively is even higher among PPACA opponents, with 60 percent of opponents indicating little confidence, compared with 44 percent of PPACA proponents.
If the court strikes the subsidies, 51 percent of total poll respondents want Congress to amend the PPACA to allow subsidies in all states, while 44 percent want the subsidies to only be available in states with their own insurance marketplaces.