Obamacare's Low Support Ratings Still Compel Most To Feel It Should Be Fixed, Not Scrapped
Although Obamacare has had a less than favorable start in life, a recent survey has revealed that despite all its troubles, only one-third of Americans want the health care insurance plan to be repealed and replaced. This surprising attitude toward Obamacare is not only visible in Democratic districts but also in districts held by a Republican member of Congress. The survey revealed that 58 percent of respondents want to "work to improve” the health care law, as opposed to 42 percent who want to “repeal and replace it.” Even though most feel that Obamacare should be fixed, the health care plan is still quite unpopular among the majority of Americans surveyed.
The survey was conducted by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and released online Tuesday. Of those who identified as Democrats, 85 percent wanted to keep the law; Independents, 56 percent; and 31 percent of those who identified as Republicans believed it was better to improve and keep the current law than replace it completely. According to This Week, the poll’s results reflect Republicans' recent toning down in their calls to repeal Obamacare since the start of the year.
It’s not all good news for Obamacare. The poll also revealed that Obamacare’s overall favorability remains relatively the same: low. Of the general American public, 46 percent answered that they had an unfavorable view of the health care reform. This is only a slight improvement to when the polls were taken from November 2013 through January 2014.
According to the findings, 43 percent of Republican respondents oppose the health care law because it “goes too far.” This number has decreased from the 48 percent in December. As before, Democratic districts still have a majority-support status for Obamacare. Even though the majority of Democratic districts supported the health care law, the poll showed that one-third of Democrats feel that the law doesn’t work.
Results showed the majority of Americans are also unimpressed with the “about eight million” people that signed up for coverage with the health care law. Only 43 percent of those polled were even aware of this figure. Nearly 60 percent felt this number was far below the government’s expectations.
As reported by This Week, the poll suggests that the health care law is not the political liability it once was. Although Democrats are likely to lose some ground in November because of structural disadvantages and President Obama’s low approval rating, most American voters are in favor of keeping and improving Obamacare.