Obamacare's unpopularity and the confusion over understanding of its impact has never been higher with the American public, a new survey by the Pew Research Center shows:
With health insurance exchanges set to open on Oct. 1, the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center and USA TODAY, conducted Sept. 4-8 among 1,506 adults, finds that 53% of Americans disapprove of the law while 42% approve. Overall approval of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ticked up last July in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold most of the law (47% approved, 43% disapproved), but opinions are now as negative as they have been any point since the bill’s passage. [...]
As more of the law’s provisions begin to take effect, relatively few Americans say they feel they have a solid understanding of how the law might affect them and their families. Just a quarter (25%) say they understand the law’s impact very well while another 39% say they understand it somewhat well; roughly a third (34%) say they have little or no understanding of how the law will affect them. The percentage saying they lack a good understanding of the law’s impact has declined only modestly, from 44% to 34%, since its enactment in March 2010.
A plurality (38 percent) says the effect on the country so far has been mostly negative, while 24 percent say it has been mostly positive and 31 percent say it has not yet had much effect. People think the law will be negative for the U.S. in the long run, 47 percent to 35 percent.
Also, 40 percent of Americans trust Republicans more on health care, against 39 percent for Democrats.
The law is unpopular among independents, with more saying the law’s impact will be negative than positive, 52 percent to 30 percent.