Opinions of the Affordable Care Act remain deeply divided along party lines but period less negative publicity leads to higher approval ratings

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Obamacare is now at its most popular since the 2012 election.



Although more people still disapprove of the Affordable Care Act – Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reform – than approve of it, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, the controversial law is now viewed favorably by 41% of Americans and unfavorably by 43% of Americans, the smallest margin in over two years.

Opinions of the bill are still deeply divided along partisan lines. While 65% of Democrats view Obamacare favorably, 74% of Republicans hold an unfavorable opinion of the healthcare reform law.

The increase in support happened after the second annual enrollment period of Americans to sign for healthcare under the Affordable Care Act.

Unlike the first enrollment period, which was plagued with computer issues and a variety of technical embarrassments, sign-up was relatively smooth this time.

The result was less negative publicity for Obamacare.

In contrast, when the technical problems were most pronounced in late fall of 2013 and few Americans could access healthcare.gov, support for the landmark legislation plummeted to an all-time low.

Further, unlike the 2012 supreme court case about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, NFIB v Sebelius, recent legal challenges to law have received far less public notice.

According to the poll, less than 50% of respondents had even heard of King v Burwell, a recent court case that challenges the legality of federal subsidies to those benefiting from healthcare reform in many states.

A partisan divide also remains over what Congress should do to implement the law. Some 30% of Americans favor wholesale repeal of the law while 10% want to see it scaled back.

In contrast, 23% want to expand the scope of the landmark legislation further while another 23% are satisfied with the Affordable Care Act moving forward as is.

The poll was conducted from 6 March to 12 March using a sample of 1,503 adults on both landlines and cellphones. Questions were asked in both English and Spanish.