Poll: Most want Congress to save ObamaCare subsidies

More than 6 in 10 adults think Congress should restore ObamaCare subsidies if the Supreme Court invalidates them, according to a new poll. 

{mosads}The looming Supreme Court case of King v. Burwell could strike down subsidies that help 6.4 million people in at least 34 states afford insurance purchased through the law’s federal exchange. 

The poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, which does nonpartisan health analysis, finds 63 percent thinks Congress should restore the subsidies in all states if they are invalidated. Just 26 percent thinks Congress should do nothing. 

However, among Republicans, a much higher 49 percent thinks Congress should do nothing, while 38 percent thinks Congress should restore financial help. 

Congressional Republicans have been planning their own response. While they have yet to coalesce around a plan, some proposals include new tax credits, separate from those under the Affordable Care Act, to help people afford insurance. 

States could also preserve their residents’ subsidies if they created their own exchange, also called a marketplace, under the law. Fifty-five percent of adults who would lose insurance subsidies think their state should use this option to restore subsidies. Republicans favor the option narrowly, at 44 percent to 42 percent. 

Some Republican governors have vowed not to set up an exchange, while others have not made their position clear. 

On ObamaCare overall, the poll finds the public is split. Forty-two percent has an unfavorable view and 39 percent a favorable one. The unfavorability has declined since the summer of 2014, though, when 53 percent had an unfavorable opinion of the law.