Gallup: Younger U.S. Adults Less Familiar With Affordable Care Act

Younger U.S. adults are less familiar about the Affordable Care Act compared with older adults, but they are also less pessimistic about the law than older people, according to a Gallup poll released last week, The Hill's "Healthwatch" reports (Baker, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 8/23).

The poll, conducted on Aug. 17 and Aug 18, surveyed a random sample of 1,021 adults ages 18 and older who lived in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points (Dugan, Gallup Politics, 8/22).

According to the poll, 36% of respondents in the 18 to 34 age group said they are "not too familiar" or "not familiar at all" with the ACA, while 10% said they are "very familiar" with the law ("Healthwatch," The Hill, 8/23). By comparison, 18% of respondents ages 35 to 54 and 18% of respondents 55 and older said they are "very familiar" with the law (Gallup Politics, 8/22).

Overall, the poll found that:

• 55% of respondents in all three age groups said they are "somewhat" familiar with the ACA;
• 30% are unfamiliar with the ACA; and
• 15% said are "very" familiar with the law.

The poll also found that 40% of adults ages 18 to 34 disapprove of the law, compared with 54% of respondents ages 35 to 54 and 51% of those 55 and older.

According to "Healthwatch," low familiarity rates among young adults about the ACA could pose "a major challenge" for advocates for the law who want them to seek out the range of new coverage options under the law ("Healthwatch," The Hill, 8/23).

Obama administration officials have said they need to enroll 2.7 million U.S. residents between ages 18 and 35 in the law's insurance exchanges to offset the cost of enrolling older, sicker individuals. Some observers say this age group will be "a tough sell" because they could be reluctant to purchase coverage they might rarely use (California Healthline, 8/21).