Survey: Support Falling for Rate Regulation Ballot Initiative
Support for a November ballot initiative related to health insurance rate regulation has declined significantly, and the measure appears unlikely to pass, according to a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, the San Jose Mercury News reports (Calefati, San Jose Mercury News, 10/23).
The survey, conducted between Oct. 12 and Oct. 19, included 976 likely voters and was sponsored by the James Irvine Foundation.
Findings on Prop. 45
According to the survey, support for Proposition 45 -- which would give the state insurance commissioner the authority to reject health insurance rate increases -- has fallen to 39%, down nine percentage points from September (Gutierrez, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/22).
About 46% of respondents said they plan to vote against the measure and 15% were undecided.
Meanwhile, 53% of those surveyed said the outcome of the vote on Prop. 45 was "very important" to them and 32% said the outcome was "somewhat important" (PPIC survey, October 2014).
The growing opposition follows increased spending on efforts to defeat the ballot initiative. Specifically, opponents of the measure have raised about $57 million as of Wednesday, compared with $2.7 million raised by supporters (Cadelago, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 10/22).
PPIC President and CEO Mark Baldassare said, "This initiative is in a difficult place right now," adding, "It's losing support; it's a complicated issue. There's a relatively short amount of time left, and there's substantial opposition" (San Jose Mercury News, 10/23).
Support for ACA Divided
The survey also found varied support for the Affordable Care Act heading into Covered California's second open enrollment period.
About 46% of respondents had a favorable view of the law, while 44% had an unfavorable view.
Meanwhile, 39% of respondents said the ACA will not make much of a difference, compared with 29% who believed the law will be good for them and their families and 28% who said it will be bad (PPIC survey, October 2014).
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