Obamacare has the support of 54 percent of the public, the highest percentage ever reported from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll has been conducted more than 80 times since 2010, when Obamacare formally went into effect. It measures public attitudes toward the law and last month found support was at 50 percent. The highest unfavorable rating was of 53 percent, a measure reported in July 2014, shortly after the healthcare.gov site faced a troubled rollout.
The current unfavorable view of the law has remained unchanged since last month, holding at 42 percent.
The change in favorability is largely driven by people who identify as politically independent, 55 percent of whom now say they have a favorable opinion of the law, compared to 48 percent favorability measured last month. The views on the law are split by party, with 83 percent of Democrats viewing the law favorably and 78 percent of Republicans viewing it unfavorably.
The survey comes shortly after Republicans repealed the penalty in Obamacare incurred by people who are uninsured. The repeal of the fine was part of the tax law, but much of the public doesn’t know it’s gone. Forty percent were unaware the fine was repealed, while 21 percent incorrectly believe the repeal went into effect beginning this year. The penalties will not be eliminated until next year.
The survey was conducted over the phone from Feb. 15 to 20, using responses from 1,193 adults.