The gap between Americans who oppose and favor the Affordable Care Act has narrowed to the closest margin in over two years, according to the latest Kaiser Health Tracking poll. Forty-three percent of respondents view the ACA unfavorably, while 41 percent view it favorably. Last July, the same poll found that 53 percent of Americans opposed the healthcare reform law, while 37 approved of it.
The survey, conducted earlier this month, sampled 1,503 adults. Among those in favor of the ACA, 61 percent cited access to healthcare and health insurance as the main reason why they liked the law. Ten percent liked that it makes healthcare more affordable, while 7 percent noted that the ACA makes the country better off as a whole.
For those with unfavorable views, 26 percent said the main reason for their dislike of the ACA was financial concerns surrounding rising healthcare costs, while 18 percent oppose the individual mandate and 10 percent shared concerns about government overreach.
What's more, the poll found that 53 percent of respondents have heard nothing about the King v. Burwell Supreme Court case regarding federal subsidies, even after the oral arguments on March 4, while 25 percent said they've heard about it only a little. Though most respondents did not know about the case, 62 percent said a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would have a negative impact on the country and 45 percent said the ruling would negatively impact their state.
"When we explain the issue to them, I think it's just a matter of common sense or fairness: They don't get why people in some states should get financial help from the government but people in other states would not get it," Kaiser Family Foundation CEO Drew Altman told the New York Times.
For more:
- here's the tracking poll
- read the New York Times article