Poll Shows Public View Evenly Divided On Health Overhaul

Politico reports that nearly identical percentages of respondents say the health law is either the best or the worst thing President Barack Obama has done since taking office. Meanwhile, in a separate story, a Blue Cross Exec defends the health law's individual mandate, saying that dropping it would "create a dangerous set of conditions."

Politico: Poll Health Care Reform Is Barack Obama's Best And Worst
It's the best thing he's done and it's the worst thing he's done. Americans are so evenly divided over health care that nearly identical percentages say reform is President Barack Obama's greatest accomplishment and his worst one since taking office, according to a new poll (Epstein, 1/13).

Kansas Health Institute News: Blue Cross Exec Defends Individual Mandate In Federal Health Reform
A top executive with the state's largest health insurer on Thursday defended requiring most Americans to have health coverage by 2014. ... Dropping the so-called individual mandate from the federal health reform law, [Matt All, chief legal counsel at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas] said, would "create a dangerous set of conditions," noting that without the requirement, large numbers of people would be free to put off buying health insurance until they were sick (Ranney, 1/13).