Smart Benefits: Polls Show Most Americans Skeptical of Obamacare
Monday, December 23, 2013
A just-released Associated Press - GfK poll reveals a striking level of unease about Obamacare among people who have health insurance and aren't looking for government assistance. And that’s largely due to the fact that nearly 50% of those with employer-provided or other private coverage reported their health insurance coverage will change in 2014 - mostly for the worse.
• Sixty-nine percent say their premiums will increase
• Fifty-nine percent think that deductibles or copays will increase
And almost 77% blame the changes on the Affordable Care Act.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTExchange Enrollment Disappoints
What about the uninsured? While the state healthcare exchanges are designed for them, the results of a poll by CBS News/New York Times released last week reveal that 58% of the uninsured say they haven’t even looked up information about applying for insurance. And for the 49% who have tried, almost half of them weren’t able to get the information they needed. Only 10% of uninsured Americans who took the poll said they applied for insurance in the exchanges.
Individuals Don’t Like Individual Mandate
According to another well-regarded poll, the Rasmussen Reports, 58% of likely voters oppose the individual mandate, which requires Americans to have insurance. That figure represents a 4% increase over the last month, and the highest opposition so far.
Political Persuasion Plays in Polls
In all of these polls, party affiliation is a key factor when asking about politically-charged issues like Obamacare. According to a recent poll by Fox News, which has a largely Republican viewership, 67% of respondents support delaying Obamacare until all the kinks are worked out and 53% would vote to repeal it. About 20% of democrats would vote to repeal the law.
The bottom line? Most Americans are not convinced that Obamacare will succeed. To them, the outlook for the future looks grim, at best.
Amy Gallagher has over 21 years of healthcare industry experience guiding employers and employees. As Vice President at Cornerstone Group, she advises large employers on all aspects of healthcare reform, benefit solutions, cost-containment strategies and results-driven wellness programs. Amy speaks regularly on a variety of healthcare-related topics, and is often quoted by national publications on the subject matter. Locally, Amy is a member of SHRM-RI, the Rhode Island Business Group on Health, and the Rhode Island Business Healthcare Advisory Council.
Related Slideshow: New England’s Healthiest States 2013
The United Health Foundation recently released its 2013 annual reoprt: America's Health Rankings, which provides a comparative state by state analysis of several health measures to provide a comprehensive perspective of our nation's health issues. See how the New England states rank in the slides below.
Definitions
All Outcomes Rank: Outcomes represent what has already occurred, either through death, disease or missed days due to illness. In America's Health Rankings, outcomes include prevalence of diabetes, number of poor mental or physical health days in last 30 days, health disparity, infant mortality rate, cardiovascular death rate, cancer death rate and premature death. Outcomes account for 25% of the final ranking.
Determinants Rank: Determinants represent those actions that can affect the future health of the population. For clarity, determinants are divided into four groups: Behaviors, Community and Environment, Public and Health Policies, and Clinical Care. These four groups of measures influence the health outcomes of the population in a state, and improving these inputs will improve outcomes over time. Most measures are actually a combination of activities in all four groups.
Diabetes Rank: Based on percent of adults who responded yes to the question "Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have diabetes?" Does not include pre-diabetes or diabetes during pregnancy.
Smoking Rank: Based on percentage of adults who are current smokers (self-report smoking at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoke).
Obesity Rank: Based on percentage of adults who are obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 or higher.
Related Articles
- Smart Benefits: 5 Health Benefit Cost-Cutting Trends To Watch In 2014
- Smart Benefits: A Bad Week Brings Reactionary Changes to Obamacare
- Smart Benefits: Be Prepared For Fall Open Enrollment Changes
- Smart Benefits: Consumer Engagement is Key to Better Healthcare
- Smart Benefits: 3 Ways Obamacare Hurts Employees
