Obamacare’s been in action for six months, and a majority of the country still disapproves of the health care law, according to a Bloomberg poll out Thursday.
Fifty-three percent of Americans oppose Obamacare, according to Bloomberg, a majority that doesn’t look likely to shrink anytime soon. Much of the furor about the health care law has calmed down since the first open enrollment period closed in April, but the public remains adamantly opposed to it. Just 39 percent support Obamacare.
A 42 percent plurality of respondents disapprove of Obamacare because it “went too far,” Bloomberg found. Another 11 percent oppose it because it didn’t go far enough. When it comes to fixing it, however, a majority of respondents said the health care law “may need small modifications,” while 32 percent advocated for a full repeal.
The public’s problem with the president’s bona fides on health care as a whole is even worse: a whopping 58 percent of Americans disapprove of President Obama’s job performance with health care, while just 38 percent approve. While Obamacare has attracted the most political attention, the administration has also been hit for its policies on Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
The opposition remains widespread even though most people reported experiencing no real chance since Obamacare went live in January. Sixty percent said they haven’t been affected, while 39 percent had felt some amount of change. That’s not surprising so far — 150 million Americans have heath insurance through their employer and have no need for interaction with Obamacare exchanges.
But even those with employer-provided coverage will likely see changes in upcoming years. The Obama administration’s unilateral delays pushed back some Obamacare provisions, such as the employer mandate, which could change coverage for some. And a long list of taxes that will begin to hit companies over the next several years are boosting costs.
A Wednesday survey found that an overwhelming 88 percent of health benefits managers at businesses expect Obamacare to boost the cost of providing health insurance to workers — and the number of companies responding by shifting those costs to workers is growing every year. (RELATED: Survey: Employers Fear Growing Obamacare Costs, Increasingly Shifting Hikes To Workers)
Opposition to Obamacare remains as staunch as ever, but it’s possible opinions may still change once higher costs set in.
