More Bad News for Obamacare Supporters
The Kaiser Family Foundation is out with their latest monthly health care tracking poll, and the results contain some revealing findings. Overall, those who believe they will be better off thanks to Obamacare has fallen to all-time lows – even the uninsured don’t believe they’ll benefit – while concerns about premium increases remain high:
Support Slipping: Support for the law has dropped to 39%, down seven points from 46% in April 2010, just after the law passed. This flies in the face of remarks last year by Democrats, who said that “by November [2010] those who voted for [Obamacare] will find it an asset and those who voted against it will find it a liability.”
Americans Don’t Think They’ll Be Better Off: The percentage of individuals thinking they will be better off under the law dropped to 24%, an all-time low. And the percentage of individuals thinking the country as a whole will be better off under Obamacare dropped to 33%, also an all-time low.
Insured Americans Happy with Current Coverage – But Going to Lose It Anyway: Nearly nine in ten currently insured Americans report very positive (47%) or somewhat positive (41%) experiences with their current coverage. Yet the Administration’s own estimates have revealed that half of all employers – and as many as 80% of small businesses – will be forced to give up their current coverage within the next two years.
Higher Premiums Thanks to Obamacare: Two-thirds (67%) of those with employer-sponsored coverage who think their employer will be changing benefits for 2012 believe their share of premiums will increase as a result. And nearly two-third of individuals who think their employer will be changing benefits for 2012 believe that Obamacare is either a major (43%) or minor (24%) reason behind that change.
Concerns about Dropping Coverage: Nearly three in ten Americans with employer-sponsored coverage are worried a great deal (16%) or quite a lot (13%) whether their employer is going to drop their health coverage.
Even Uninsured Skeptical of Obamacare’s Ability to Help Them: A plurality of the uninsured (47%) believe the health law won’t make much difference in their lives, while a further 14% believe the law will hurt, not help them – largely by forcing them to buy insurance they cannot afford.
Today’s survey again illustrates how for the American people, the buyer’s remorse over Obamacare – a piece of legislation many did not want in the first place – only continues to increase.