Polls: Despite Meeting Enrollment Goals, Disapproval of ACA Still High

Despite meeting enrollment projections for the health insurance exchanges, the Affordable Care Act continues to remain unpopular, according to a pair of new surveys, The Hill's "Healthwatch" reports.

Gallup Poll

A Gallup survey released Friday polled 1,009 adults between April 7 and April 8, about one week after the Obama administration announced that 7.1 million U.S. residents had enrolled in health insurance coverage through the ACA's exchanges, surpassing the Congressional Budget Office's original enrollment estimate of seven million enrollees.

The survey found that:

• 54% of respondents said they disapprove of the ACA;
• 43% said they approve of the ACA (Easley, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 4/11);
• 45% said the ACA would make the long-term health care situation in the U.S. worse; and
• 37% said the ACA would make the long-term health care situation in the U.S. better.

Gallup researchers noted that because "basic opinions of the law have been fairly stable over the past year," U.S. residents "may ... have already made up their mind about the law, for the most part reflecting their underling political orientation." However, the researchers added, "There is some evidence that Americans' perceptions of how the law might affect their own situation both in the short-term and long-term are changing and becoming less negative."

According to McClatchy/Sacramento Bee, ACA approval has increased slightly since estimates from a similar November 2013 survey, although disapproval rates have remained about the same (Lightman, McClatchy/Sacramento Bee, 4/11).

The Morning Consult Survey

Meanwhile, a separate survey conducted by The Morning Consult polled 1,009 adults between April 3 and April 6.

The survey found that:

• 51% of individuals said they disapprove of the ACA; and
• 43% of individuals said they approve of the ACA ("Healthwatch," The Hill, 4/11).