Poll: Obama gets low marks on healthcare

A strong majority disapproves of President Obama’s handling of healthcare, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday.

{mosads}The survey found that 36 percent said they approve of how the president is handling healthcare, against 59 percent who said they disapprove.

That remains near December’s all-time low for the president, when only 34 percent said they approved and 62 percent said they disapproved.

Obama has been hovering near those lows for several months, as HealthCare.gov’s problem-plagued launch frustrated consumers, and the president’s broken promise that “if you like your healthcare plan you can keep it” turned into a political nightmare for Democrats.

“If — and it’s a big if — the president can convince the American people that the economy is getting better and that ObamaCare will be good for them, it will go a long way to rebuilding his sagging job approval ratings,” Tim Malloy, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement.

Healthcare is second on the list of the most important issues for voters. The survey found that 18 percent listed healthcare as their No. 1 issue.

Jobs or unemployment came in at 16 percent, and the economy at 15 percent, but the two are combined in the poll to make it the most important issue for voters.