Slight Majority of U.S. Residents Disapprove of ACA, Poll Finds

About 53% of U.S. residents say they disapprove of the Affordable Care Act, compared with about 41% who say they approve of the law, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center, The Hill's "Healthwatch" reports.

The poll is based on surveys of 3,335 adults between Feb. 27 and March 16 (Viebeck, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 3/20).

The poll found that support for the law varied among certain demographic groups, with:

77% of black respondents saying they approve of the law, compared with 18% who disapprove;
47% of Hispanic respondents saying they approve of the law, with the same percentage saying they disapprove; and
33% of white respondents saying they approve of the law, compared with 62% who oppose it.

According to the Washington Post's "Post Politics," the views among Hispanic respondents are particularly notable because Hispanics by and large have been significant supporters of the law. In a September 2013 poll, about 61% of Hispanics expressed support for the law (Blake, "Post Politics," Washington Post, 3/20).

The latest poll also found that support for the law is higher among adults younger than age 30, compared with the general population. About 50% of respondents between ages 18 and 29 said they approve of the law, compared with about 47% who reported their disapproval.

Support for Efforts To Make ACA Fail Falls

Meanwhile, a larger majority of respondents who disapprove of the ACA said that they want policymakers to work on improving it, rather than focusing on efforts to ensure it fails, the Los Angeles Times' "Politics Now" reports. According to Pew, fewer than one in five U.S. residents now want lawmakers to try to make the law fail, down from about 25% in the September 2013 poll.

Similarly, just 25% of Republicans -- who do not identify with the tea party -- want public officials to work toward the ACA's failure, compared with about 60% of people who identify with the tea party (Lauter, "Politics Now," Los Angeles Times, 3/20).

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