Contrary to President Barack Obama persistently touting the Affordable Care Act bringing insurance to those previously uninsured, a new study has found that only 58 percent of Americans lacking insurance plan to purchase healthcare through the law.
According to an August tracking poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, of the 182 people who were surveyed, slightly more than half said they would obtain insurance through the Affordable Care Act, which allows those not receiving employer coverage to purchase plans through a state and federal exchange. Those who choose not to enroll — 32 percent of those surveyed — will be forced to pay a fine.
Additionally, though more than half of Americans — 51 percent — remain confused about the Affordable Care Act, 62 percent of those who are uninsured feel they don’t have enough information on Obamacare, despite the administration’s multi-million dollar efforts to market the law.
“Roughly half of the public continues to say they don’t have enough information about the ACA to understand how it will impact them and their family,” a share that has been fairly steady since 2010,” the study states.
And with the Obama administration continuing to delay key components of the law, 44 percent of Americans remain confused about the law’s status.
The White House announced in a blog post the employer mandate would be delayed until 2015, and the Department of Health and Human Services quietly announced yesterday it would be delaying the signing of agreements between insurance companies who intend to sell plans on the federal exchanges and the government. Though the delay is only for a few weeks, experts said even a small deferment could affect the Oct. 1 launch of the marketplaces.
Still, the Obama administration remains adamant the Affordable Care Act will be enacted without any major problems — such minor hiccups are normal, Obama said — but it depends on the enrollment of more than 7 million uninsured to keep the cost of premiums low.
The Congressional Budget Office reported the federal government will spend roughly $1.8 trillion throughout the next decade on Obamacare’s healthcare provisions, but 31 million Americans will remain uninsured despite the high price tag.
And, according to The Washington Examiner, 12 million Americans can expect to lose their insurance because of the Affordable Care Act.
Obamacare’s health insurance marketplaces launch in just 32 days.
