According to Gallup, "Americans who lack health insurance are predominantly independent in their political orientation. Given this, the health care reform effort could enable the Democrats to tap into this population for greater support in coming elections":
Uninsured Americans -- those who stand to benefit the most from health care reform -- are less Democratic and more independent than one might assume. Nearly half of the uninsured, compared with roughly a third of Americans with private insurance or Medicare, are politically independent.
Given this finding from Gallup Daily tracking in March, passing healthcare legislation did not merely cater to the Democrats' base, but could potentially expand it among the uninsured themselves, who may now have more reason to support Democrats. Gallup polling immediately after the healthcare vote found 58% of uninsured Americans, compared with 45% of insured Americans, favoring the bill.
The net effect among all independents won't necessarily be positive, however, as nearly 80% of that group currently has health insurance, and independents are almost evenly split on whether passage of the healthcare bill was a good thing or a bad thing.
Although the uninsured are clearly younger, on average, than the insured, age alone does not account for the tendency of the uninsured to be politically independent. At every age level, those without health insurance are more likely to be independent and less likely to be Republican than their insured counterparts.
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