Trumpcare poll shows Americans are split on Obamacare and the GOP alternative

Americans are almost evenly divided on key changes Republicans are considering in their restructure of the Affordable Care Act, dubbed "Trumpcare," according to a new poll by CNN/ORC.

CNN reported that 50% of Americans oppose both removing the ACA mandate that levies a penalty to those who don't buy health insurance as well as swapping out the income-based tax credit with an age-based tax credit. Forty-eight percent of Americans support removing the penalty mandate and 46% support age-based tax credits.

Opposition to these two key mandates speaks to some Americans' warts-and-all support for the Affordable Care Act in the face of a GOP Congress and a Republican president bent on repealing Obama's watershed bill and replacing it with a questionable alternative.

Another CNN/ORC poll conducted just days before Trump's inauguration found that opposition to the ACA fell below 50% for the first time since its implementation in 2010. Tuesday's poll suggests that number has remained stable as Republicans have struggled to find a better alternative to the Affordable Care Act.

The CNN/ORC poll also offers an insight into the disparity between Americans' individual experiences and how the overall landscape of health care is viewed, possibly thanks in part to years-long Republican endeavors and insistence on the need to repeal and replace the ACA. Sixty-eight percent of Americans are largely happy with their insurance coverage and 78% are satisfied with the quality of health care they receive. They're also fairly split, with 46% satisfied and 53% unsatisfied, on the costs of their personal health care. However, Tuesday's CNN/ORC poll found a growing dissatisfaction with U.S. health care costs overall — 84% — compared to 77% in May 2009.

The CNN poll — conducted before Monday's release of a legislative draft of the GOP's plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act — asked participants how Congress should handle the ACA. Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed stated that Congress should repeal parts of the ACA "only if replacements can be enacted at the same time," while 17% were in favor of repealing whatever can be repealed "regardless of whether a replacement is ready." Nearly a quarter of respondents — 23% — would prefer it if Congress just left the ACA alone.