Very few people believe the Supreme Court will rule fairly in the latest case that could jeopardize Obamacare, according to a new poll.
Only one person in 10 is highly confident in the court’s objectivity on King v. Burwell, while 48 percent say they are not confident the justices will put aside personal opinions, the survey by the Associated Press found.
The figures reveal a measure of disillusionment in the public’s view of the justices on this case, which could cancel health insurance for 8 to 9 million people if the plaintiffs succeed.
{mosads}Interestingly, a majority of opponents of the healthcare law (60 percent) said they were not confident in the court’s objectivity. The Supreme Court currently has a conservative majority.
In contrast, 44 percent of people who support Obamacare were concerned about the justices’ impartiality.
After hearing oral arguments in March, the Supreme Court is now in the process of drafting opinions about whether eligible people in states that failed to set up their own health insurance exchanges are permitted to receive subsidies.
Plaintiffs in King say the letter of the law bars this outcome, while the federal government say this interpretation misreads the law in part and as a whole.
A majority of the public (56 percent) agrees with the Obama administration and wants subsidies to continue to be available to eligible people in states whose exchanges are run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Thirty-nine percent, meanwhile, say the benefits should be limited to states that run their own marketplaces.
While the case dominates discussion in healthcare circles, it is not on the minds of very few people. Only 13 percent are closely following the developments in the case, the poll found.