MENLO PARK, CA – Public support for health reform moved modestly upwards in September, according to the latest Kaiser Health tracking poll.

According to the poll, 57 percent of Americans now believe that healthcare reform is more important than ever – up from 53 percent in August. The proportion of Americans who think their families would be better off if health reform passes is up 6 percentage points (42 percent versus 36 percent in August), and the percentage who think the country would be better off is up 8 percent (to 53 percent from 45 percent in August).

Nevertheless, a substantial share of the public (47 percent) favors taking longer to work out a bipartisan approach to health reform, compared to 42 percent who would prefer to see Democrats move faster on their own.

The Kaiser results indicate that the public continues to view the action in Washington with mixed feelings: The largest share (68 percent) said they are "hopeful" about reform, but 50 percent are "anxious" and 31 percent are "angry."

"Opinion in the coming months is hard to predict, but as the focus shifted from the town halls and hot button issues to the president, the Congress and the core issues in the legislation that affect people the most, the summer downturn in support was largely erased," said Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman.

According to the Kaiser survey, many Americans continue to say they back individual reform components designed to expand coverage, including an individual mandate (68 percent), an employer mandate (67 percent) and an expansion of state programs such as Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (82 percent).