Poll: Most Americans Favor Health Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions

Most Americans say they don't want the Supreme Court to overhaul the entire Obama-era Affordable Care Act -- especially its coverage for pre-existing conditions, a new survey shows.

The Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 68 percent said "no" to the high court dismissing the pre-existing coverage and 54 percent don't want to see the entire law overturned. In fact, most respondents , regardless of political party, favored keeping them.

Although nearly three-quarters of Republicans said they want the ACA gone, 52 percent want coverage for pre-existing conditions. Sixty-seven percent of independents favor the coverage, as do 80 percent of Democrats.

The study, issued Wednesday, said most Americans worry a family member will lose health coverage if the law is overturned.

A federal judge in Texas ruled in December the ACA was invalidated by the Republican tax overhaul, since it eliminated the individual mandate penalty. The Trump administration has previously said it will no longer defend the ACA's safeguard for pre-existing conditions in court. It's also passed new rules promoting short-term health policies with lower-premiums that are not required to cover pre-existing conditions. The Texas case is expected to reach the Supreme Court.

Thursday's survey also found most Americans, 56 percent, favor a national Medicare-for-all plan -- similar to one proposed this month by 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The poll also showed respondents favored solutions for lowering costs of prescription drugs and protecting Americans from steep medical bills. Only about a quarter of respondents favored entirely repealing the ACA.

The survey included a random sample of 1,203 adults with a margin of error of 3 points.