NORWALK, Connecticut, USA (December 6, 2010) – Americans remain deeply divided over the nation's new health-care reform package, with 40 percent of adults wanting to repeal all or most of the legislation while 31 percent favor keeping all or most of the reforms.

Another 29 percent aren't sure what should be done.

Those are several key findings in a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll released today.

The conflicting views reflect divisions in Congress, where Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives in January following election gains at the polls last month. Many GOP representatives have pledged to dismantle—or, at the very least, curtail—the controversial legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama in March.

But the poll also uncovered an intriguing paradox: Many of those who want the health-reform law repealed favor keeping many of its key components.

Specifically, nearly two-thirds of poll respondents like that the law prevents insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Sixty percent want to keep the provision of tax credits for small businesses that provide their employees with health insurance. While just over half support the law for allowing children to remain on their parents insurance until they are 26.

The poll released today surveyed 2,019 adults online between November 19-23, 2010 by Harris Interactive, one of the world's leading custom market research firms, and HealthDay, a leading producer and syndicator of health news.

"Additional poll results indicate that many Americans want to repeal the bill not because they dislike the specifics, but because they feel it is an expensive expansion of an already big government," said Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll, Harris Interactive's long-running public opinion poll. He continues, "81% believe it will it result in higher taxes, could lead to rationing of health care (74%), and reduce the quality of care they will receive (77%)."

Perhaps part of the explanation for this paradox was seen in a previous HealthDay/Harris Interactive poll which discovered that Americans have little knowledge of the specifics of the more than 2,500-page law. "There's a substantial gap in the general public understanding [but] the more informed people are, the more they understand," said Thomas R. Oliver, professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.

"I think this suggests that as the public becomes more familiar with the law and how it will benefit them and their families, support will probably climb," said Sara Collins, vice president for Affordable Health Insurance at The Commonwealth Fund. She continues, "There's just a lag while immediate provisions are rolling out like young adult coverage."

The complete findings of the newest joint Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll are available here. HealthDay's news report is available here. Full data on the poll and its methodology are available at Harris Interactive.

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About HealthDay

HealthDay, a division of Scout News LLC, is a leading producer and syndicator of evidence-based health news for consumers and physicians and is the largest syndicator of that news to Internet sites. Its consumer health news service (www.healthday.com) appears on more than 5,000 Web sites such as Yahoo!, MSN, iVillage, US News & World Report, hundreds of hospitals and hospital group Web sites, as well as print publication Web sites across the country. HealthDay also produces Physician's Briefing (www.physiciansbriefing.com); a news service for physicians, nurses and other medical professionals that is updated twice daily providing 15 articles a day across 32 medical specialties. HealthDay also provides custom content for major health portals. The newest addition to the HealthDay portfolio is HealthDay TV -- a 90-second news broadcast of essential health information that appears on several major media Web sites, US government Web sites and other health information sites.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.