
Public Support for ACA Continues to Trend Upwards, Particularly Among Young Americans
Several polls released this week show that Americans’ opinions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are steadily becoming more positive, as approval of the law has topped 50% for the first time amidst unsuccessful efforts to repeal and replace it.
Several polls released this week indicate that Americans’ opinions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are steadily becoming more positive, as approval of the law has topped 50% for the first time amidst unsuccessful efforts to repeal and replace it.
In the wake of the failure of the GOP-led American Health Care Act (AHCA), Americans are divided in their opinions of imminent legislative priorities. The 40% who want the ACA to be kept in place but changed are equally split on whether Congress should make these changes in the coming months or shift its focus to other issues for now. Preferences are slightly more clear among the 30% pushing for repeal and replace, as two-thirds say Congress should continue its work on healthcare.
These findings were mostly echoed in
The Kaiser poll also delved into public opinions of the AHCA, which was withdrawn before a House vote. Most respondents (64%) said the bill’s failure to pass was a good thing, but this group was almost equally split on whether they saw it as good because they did not feel the ACA should be repealed or because they were concerned about the specifics of the AHCA despite supporting ACA repeal more broadly.
Predictably, feelings on the bill’s withdrawal were split along partisan lines; 78% of Democrats said they were relieved while 68% of Republicans felt disappointed. Political views also shaped respondents’ opinions of the reasons behind the bill’s failure and who was to blame. Nearly three-quarters of Democrats said the bill was pulled because it went too far in cutting existing programs, but 58% of Republicans said it was because the AHCA did not go far enough in ending Obamacare. Democrats were most likely to blame Trump for the bill’s failure, while Independents blamed congressional Republicans most and almost half of the Republicans pointed fingers at Democrats in Congress.
With the AHCA dead, views of how the Trump administration should proceed on healthcare remain unclear, with respondents almost equally split on whether lawmakers should move on to other priorities or continue developing a plan for repeal and replace. The Gallup and Kaiser polls did not ask for input on the government’s role in healthcare, but another survey offers insights into the attitudes of a growing demographic group.
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