The latest report from Gallup shows little change from November in the percentage of Americans who think the Affordable Care Act will make our healthcare situation “worse.” In January 2014, 48% thought it would make things worse. Only 12% think it will make it better.
And this is before the law has even affected people! 66% of Americans say the law hasn’t impacted them or their families yet.
Sixty-six percent of Americans say the law has not — so far — affected them or their families. The unaffected group is smaller by only a few percentage points than it was in two polls from last year. The relative few who say the law has affected them are more negative than positive about it, with 19% saying the law has hurt them and 10% saying it has helped them.
Of course, these numbers are before the individual mandate kicks in, premiums increase due to imbalanced rate pools, networks shrink, high deductibles are experienced, the business mandate kicks in next year resulting in more shakeups in employment, and the Cadillac tax hits in 2018 devastating most generous insurance plans.