A University of Connecticut poll of 1,015 adults nationwide found that 53 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The same poll found that 38 percent have a favorable impression and nine percent remain neutral. About 52 percent of voters 18 to 34 had a more favorable opinion of the law, while those ages 50 to 64 had a less favorable opinion with 56 having an unfavorable opinion and 35 percent having a favorable opinion.
The law doesn’t impact voters over the age of 65 who qualify for Medicare.
The poll found that 84 percent of Americans say they’re aware of the deadline to purchase health insurance, one of the Affordable Care Act’s most contentious provisions. Two-thirds or 66 percent say they won’t participate in the health insurance marketplaces opening Oct. 1, including more than a quarter or 27 percent of people who currently have no health insurance.
At the same time voters were confident they understand what the law does, the poll found there are still 41 percent who say they don’t have enough information.
Forty-two percent of those polled say the country is worse off with the Affordable Care Act, compared to 29 percent who say the country is better for it. And if you live in the Northeast the poll found that you’re more likely to support the law than voters in other parts of the country.
Forty-nine percent of voters surveyed in the Northeast have a favorable view of the law, but only 34 percent of the voters surveyed in the Midwest share that view. Thirty-five percent of Southerners have a favorable opinion and 37 percent of Westerners.
“While Americans may like the concept of making healthcare available to all, they aren’t enthusiastic about this particular law,” UConn Poll Director Jennifer Necci Dineen said. “Some of that may be tied to how they feel about President Obama and the state of the country.”
The same poll found that 64 percent of Americans think the country is on the wrong track, with 24 percent saying it’s headed in the right direction. Americans also take a dim view of the job President Barack Obama is doing, with 51 percent disapproving and 44 percent giving him their seal of approval.
“Fifty percent of the country is unhappy with the job President Obama is doing, and so that makes it hard to sell a piece of legislation with his name on it,” Dineen said, pointing to low marks for how Obama is handling the federal budget deficit, healthcare reform in general, and the situation in Syria.
The poll has a 3 percent margin of error and voters were interviewed between Sept. 13 and 19.
The UConn poll seems to track with other national polls when it comes to opinions about the Affordable Care Act. A Rasmussen poll conducted Sept. 20-21 found 51 percent still think the law will make the health care system worse, but that’s the lowest level of pessimism since Februrary. That same poll found that 30 percent of likely voters now believe the nation’s health care system will get better under the new law, up eight points from 22 percent a month ago, making it the most positive assessment to date.
A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that awareness of the health insurance marketplaces is low with 51 percent knowing they will be available. The same poll found that the lack of awareness is prevalent among those who would be affected most.
The Pew poll also found that the closer Americans get to implementation, the less support there is for the law. Their poll conducted earlier this month found that 53 percent disapprove of the new law, while 42 percent approve. That’s the most negative assessment since the law was enacted in March 2010. Last July, shortly after the Supreme Court upheld most of the provisions of the law, 47 percent approved and 43 percent disapproved.
