New York Times Digital reports:
“One year after President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, the public remains confused about the legislation, divided on its passage and unconvinced that it will improve health care.
And a significant partisan rift persists as Democrats continue to have positive reactions to the law and Republicans remain negative about it.
In a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll , less than half, 47 percent, said they had enough information about the law to know how it would affect them.
People without health insurance and those from low-income households — those most likely to benefit from the law — were more inclined to say that they had too little information to understand how it would affect them personally. This is only slightly more than last April, when 43 percent said they had enough information about the health reform law.
The public is evenly divided on the passage of the law: Forty-six percent in a recent Gallup Poll said it was a good thing that Congress passed a law that revamps the nation’s health care system, while 44 percent said it was a bad thing.
This balanced division masks the stark political splits. More than three-quarters, 79 percent, of Democrats called the law’s passage a good thing. Conversely, just about as many Republicans, 74 percent, deemed passage a bad thing.
Independents were more closely divided: 37 percent said it was a good thing and 51 percent a bad thing.
Both surveys found opinions remained divided on the effect of the health care law on medical care in the country as a whole, as well as its impact on people’s personal health care. (Some of the legislation’s main provisions will not go into effect for a few more years.)
The Gallup Poll was conducted March 18 and 19 with 1,038 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The Kaiser Family Foundation poll was conducted March 8 through 13 with 1,202 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.”