33 percent in NC approve of Senate health care bill, Raleigh-based poll finds | News & Observer

When Senate Republicans return to the U.S. Capitol next week, their top priority will be passing their version of a now-stalled health care repeal-and-replace bill.

But the Better Care Reconciliation Act is not that popular among North Carolinians, according to a new poll from Public Policy Polling. Just 33 percent said they approve of the Senate bill, while 53 percent said they disapprove of the measure.

The group Save My Care is promoting the results as part of its campaign against the health care bills in Congress.

The Senate proposal would make changes to the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. It would end the mandate for people to buy insurance, eliminate many of the taxes imposed by the ACA and dramatically cut Medicaid spending in future years. The bill would lead to 22 million more uninsured Americans by 2026, the Congressional Budget Office estimates – including 1.3 million in North Carolina, according to the Center for American Progress.

Public Policy Polling, a Democratic polling group that earned praise for its accuracy after the 2012 election, is based in Raleigh. The PPP poll also found:

▪ 80 percent of North Carolinians believe health care is “the most important issue” or a “very important issue” in the 2018 election.

▪ More people disapprove than approve of Sen. Thom Tillis’s job performance, with 29 percent approving of the first-term Republican’s job and 47 percent disapproving. Tillis trails a generic Democratic opponent 48 percent to 44 percent. Tillis won his seat in 2014, defeating incumbent Kay Hagan 49 percent to 47.3 percent.

▪ Nearly one half of voters (48 percent) said if Tillis voted for the Senate health care bill it would make them less likely to vote for him in 2020. Twenty-eight percent of those polled said a ‘yes’ vote would make them more likely to vote for Tillis.

Tillis has yet to take an official position on the bill, though last week he said he was in favor of tweaks to the bill to get more Republican support. “I’m supportive of anything right now to get to 51 votes,” Tillis said when asked Thursday about keeping the Affordable Care Act’s investment tax on high earners in a possible revised bill.

Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican from Winston-Salem, won re-election in 2016. He said he would not seek another term. Burr issued a statement touting the benefits of the Better Care Reconciliation Act to North Carolina.

The poll was conducted on June 30 and July 1 and surveyed 1,102 North Carolina voters.

Among those surveyed, 48 percent voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 while 45 percent voted for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump won the state with 49.8 percent of the vote. The poll found 50 percent of voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance and 46 percent approve.

PPP also polled voters in Colorado and Iowa, states that also have a first-term Republican senator elected in 2014. The bill fared worse in those states, with 26 percent approving of the bill in Colorado and 27 percent approving in Iowa.