Arizona voters prefer Obamacare replacement, changes over GOP plan
Jul 28, 2017, 4:37 AM
The Capitol in Washington is seen early Thursday, July 27, 2017, as the Republican majority in Congress remains stymied by their inability to fulfill their political promise to repeal and replace "Obamacare" because of opposition and wavering within the GOP ranks. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
PHOENIX — Arizona voters would prefer Obamacare be modified or completely replaced rather than adopt the health care Republican health care plan, a poll said.
The poll from OH Predictive Insights said just 6 percent of registered Arizona voters would support the GOP’s health plan becoming law, compared to 36 percent who want the Affordable Care Act to be repealed and replaced.
Forty-nine percent of respondents said they want Obamacare to remain in place, but they would like to see changes made to the 2009 law.
Wes Gullett, a partner at OH Predictive Insights and Republican strategist, said the poll was bad news for the GOP bill.
“When only 6 percent of respondents support a bill in Congress, you really are down to the blood relatives of the staff that wrote the bill,” he said in a press release.
Republicans have made health care reform a banner issue under President Donald Trump, who promised on the campaign trail to repeal and replace the law passed under former President Barack Obama and has continued that push in the White House.
However, the party’s efforts have been met by several failures to get anything done. A comprehensive bill failed on the Senate floor, as did an all-out repeal.
U.S. Sen. John McCain called for bipartisanship Thursday as the Senate considered voting on the so-called “skinny repeal” that would remove a few of the most unpopular pieces of the 2010 law, along with a few other measures, with the goal of getting something, anything, out of the Senate.
That would be the ticket to negotiations with the House, which passed its own legislation in May.
But that plan caused consternation among GOP senators after rumors began to surface that the House might just pass the “skinny bill,” call it a day and move on to other issues like tax reform after frittering away the first six months of Donald Trump’s presidency on unsuccessful efforts over health care.
The automated poll of 700 registered Arizona voters was conducted July 26. It had a margin of error of 3.2 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: OH Predictive Insights has worked with KTAR News in the past to conduct polls.
