Most Californians Approve of the Affordable Care Act, Poll Finds
About 55% of California residents support the Affordable Care Act, a record high for the state, according to a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California, HealthyCal reports (Weintraub, HealthyCal, 1/30).
For the poll, PPIC interviewed 1,704 California adults by landline and cell phone from Jan. 15 through Jan. 22.
Health-Related Results
According to the poll, 37% of respondents said they oppose the ACA. The poll found that 76% of Democrats and 44% of independents said they support the health reform law, compared with 19% of Republicans.
Meanwhile, 70% of respondents said they would support a state cigarette tax increase, even though voters in November 2012 rejected Proposition 29, which would have raised the tobacco tax (AP/Orange County Register, 1/30).
Most Respondents Support Brown's Budget Plan
The poll found that 69% of respondents said they support Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) fiscal year 2013-2014 budget proposal (Siders, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 1/30).
Earlier this month, Brown released the budget plan, saying that it would leave the state with a budget surplus of $851 million. The plan projects $98.5 billion in revenue and transfers, and it estimates $97.7 billion in spending.
Brown's plan includes an expansion of Medi-Cal to individuals with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level under the ACA. Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program.
The budget plan also includes a 4.9% funding increase for In-Home Supportive Services and a $142 million funding increase for Cal-WORKs, the state's welfare-to-work program.
In addition, the budget proposal allocates $1.6 billion for a court-appointed federal overseer to manage continued improvements in the state's prison health care system (California Healthline, 1/25).
Additional Poll Results
The poll also found that:
- 51% of respondents approve of Brown's work as governor; and
- 51% of respondents believe that the state generally is moving in the right direction ("Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 1/30).
Broadcast Coverage
On Wednesday, Capital Public Radio's "KXJZ News" reported on the PPIC poll results (Russ, "KXJZ News," Capital Public Radio, 1/30). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.