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NBC poll: Doubts over Obama health plan
NBC poll: Misperceptions abound on president's health overhaul initiative
By Mark Murray
Deputy political director
NBC News
updated 5:30 p.m. CT, Tues., Aug 18, 2009

WASHINGTON - Two weeks since raucous congressional town-hall meetings on health care became a national story — and days after President Barack Obama began holding his own town halls — Americans remain skeptical about White House plans to overhaul the nation’s health system, according to a new NBC News poll.

A plurality believes Obama’s health plan would worsen the quality of health care, a result that is virtually unchanged from last month’s NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. What’s more, only four in 10 approve of the president’s handling of the issue, which also is unchanged from July.

And a majority — 54 percent — is more concerned that the government will go too far in reforming the nation’s health care system, while 41 percent is more worried that the reform will not do enough to lower costs and cover the uninsured.

“Things have not changed radically in the past two weeks,â€