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ACA vs Obamacare: Search Interest in 2016
People are more likely to search for the term "Obamacare" than "Affordable Care Act," but both searches saw spikes in interest following Donald Trump's election, and people are getting curious if the president-elect will keep or repeal the law.
There has always been dual perceptions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In 2013, a CBS poll found that people felt differently about the healthcare law depending on what it was called. Nearly half (46%) of the people asked how they felt about Obamacare were opposed to the law compared with just 37% of people who opposed the ACA. Importantly, more people said they didn't know what the ACA was than said the same about Obamacare (30% vs 12%).
It may come as no surprise that the term "Obamacare" has more search interest online than "Affordable Care Act." Regardless, though, both terms saw a spike in search interest following the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump's win immediately called into question the future of President Barack Obama's law. Along with increased search interest in both terms, there was a rising interest in people who searched for "Obamacare" also searching for if Trump would keep or repeal the law.
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