It seems like nothing can budge public opposition to Obamacare as a Thursday Gallup poll finds that most Americans think the health-care law won’t make the health-care situation better.
A 51 percent majority disapprove of the health-care law, down from a 55 percent high in mid-March, when there was a drastically lower number of exchange sign-ups. But a boost in last-minute interest in the health-care exchanges still wasn’t able to shift most Americans’ opinions. Forty-three percent of Americans approve of the law, according to Gallup.
Most Americans simultaneously lack much faith in Obamacare’s effectiveness. A majority thinks either that the health-care law will make things worse or that it won’t change the health-care system at all. Forty-four percent believe Obamacare will make the health-care situation worse, compared to just 37 percent that think it will make the system better. Another 16 percent think the law won’t make much of a difference.
Black Americans are much more likely to be optimistic about the health-care law’s effects. 64 percent of black respondents said Obamacare would make things better and just 13 percent think it will make the health-care system worse. In comparison, just 31 percent of white respondents said Obamacare will improve the system, while a 53 percent majority think it will make things worse.
Interestingly, Hispanics held the most apathetic view on the health-care law of any group. Twenty-two percent of Hispanic respondents said Obamacare won’t change much in the health-care system — a larger indifferent proportion than either blacks (18 percent) or whites (14 percent).
While Hispanic Americans make up a significant percentage of the uninsured population in states such as California and Texas, Hispanic enrollment in health-care exchanges has lagged behind expectations, a problem which some blamed on a lack of Spanish-speaking counselors and an enrollment website reportedly written in Spanglish.