A slim majority of Californians continue to say Obamacare is working in the state, although support appears to be slipping at the end of subsidized insurance’s first year.
The Public Policy Institute of California survey reports that 46 percent had a generally favorable view of the health-care reform law, while 43 percent had a generally unfavorable one.
Covered California, the generally well regarded Obamacare operation, drew responses that it is working “very well” (15 percent) or fairly well (37 percent). A minority had issues with Covered California, saying it was working “not too well” (25 percent) or not at all well (14 percent). Approval is down slightly from the previous PPIC survey of May 2014.
Obamacare, of course, remains highly politically charged. While Californians as a whole tend to view the Affordable Care Act more favorably than U.S. residents as a group, political differences are significant. “Partisans in California are divided,” researchers said. “Most Democrats (61 percent) have a favorable opinion while most Republicans (74 percent) have an unfavorable one — and so are independents (42 percent favorable, 43 percent unfavorable).”
Minorities tend to rate Obamacare higher than whites. Blacks are the most likely to say the exchange is working well (67 percent), followed by Latinos (57 percent), Asians (54 percent), and whites (45 percent).
“When asked about themselves and their families, 49 percent of Californians say the law will not make much difference; 26 percent say it will make them better off and 22 percent say they will be worse off,” the survey found.
Seven in 10 uninsured Californians said they planned to get covered. Reasons cited were not wanting to pay the federal “shared responsibility” penalty (24 percent), that coverage is a legal requirement (20 percent) eligibility for financial help (16 percent) and new insurance options (13 percent).
The nonpartisan Public Policy Institute telephone survey of 1,704 adult residents was conducted in mid-November.
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