ObamaCare Implementation: Not What The Doctor Ordered

As the government shutdown moves into the rearview mirror (at least for now), the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) now takes front stage.  To date, the rollout has been a rough ride, and new data from a national survey of N=1,020 voters conducted Oct 20-22* paints a vivid picture of public opinion.

Six-in-ten voters (60{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222}) describe the implementation as a “joke” with just 31{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} saying the rollout is going “fine.”  Of course, partisan views help color this overall hostgator reviews result, but with two-thirds of Independents describing it as a “joke” the scales are heavily tipped to one side.  Indeed, it’s worth noting that Democrats are far from united on this measure, with one-third of them call the implementation a “joke.”

chart 1

Of the voters interviewed in this survey, just 14{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} have tried to access the government health insurance website and the public hire insurance.  But, among that 14{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222}, the outlook is not good.  The majority say the website did not work well, with a plurality saying it did not work at all well.

chart 2

Almost half the nation is looking for some tangible accountability, with 49{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} saying the people who failed to make sure the system worked should be fired, even including 33{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} of Democrats. So here is electric razor reviews

chart 3

Certainly, these implementation problems do little to help gin up happy views of the Affordable Care Act.  But, they also do not seem to be making public opinion worse.  It seems that overall views of the legislation are fairly stable.  In this survey, 41{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} of voters say the law should stay in place versus 51{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} who say we should get rid of it.  But, this is largely unchanged compared to July of this year (40{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} keep in place/53{09f965da52dc6ab4c1643a77bd40d1f729d807040cd8db540234bb981a782222} repeal).

If the Obama Administration can fix the website quickly and get implementation moving smoothly, this voter frustration may all be just a brief blip on the public opinion landscape.  But, given how frustrated voters are in general with government, they may not be so forgiving if the problems drag on.  Only time will tell…


*Fox News Poll: National survey of N=1,020 voters, conducted 10/20-22, 2013

Public Opinion Strategies