By Louise Radnofsky Still trying to figure out how health care will play in the Republican primary and the November presidential election? Consider some numbers from the latest opinion poll by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. Some 54% of respondents said they thought the Supreme Court should rule unconstitutional the individual mandate — a requirement in the health-care overhaul law that most people carry insurance or pay a fine. Only 17% said they thought the court should rule the mandate constitutional. The remaining 29% said they didn’t know or didn’t want to answer. Republican opposition to the law is more intense than Democratic support for it. Some 57% of Republican respondents had a “very unfavorable” view, and 16% said their view was “somewhat unfavorable.” By contrast, only 35% of Democrats characterized their view as “very favorable” and 27% felt “somewhat favorable.” Most Republican

voters don’t agree with the attack on GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney that the health-care overhaul law passed in Massachusetts while he was governor is similar to the federal law passed in March 2010. Some 30% said they felt Romney’s views on health care were similar or very similar to President Barack Obama’s. But 49% said they were different or very different, and 22% didn’t answer. The poll was carried out between January 12 and 17 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. Romney got another dose of good news yesterday: an article in the influential policy journal Health Affairs said there are several indications that the Massachusetts state overhaul law was a success. Bonus: The Health-Law Provisions Being Implemented in 2012

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Poll: Most Think Supreme Court Should Strike Down Individual Mandate