Despite shelling out $52 million in only three months to promote the Affordable Care Act, support for President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law hit a new low, a new poll shows.
The Associated Press-GfK survey, released Friday, found that only 26 percent of Americans support Obamacare, while 43 percent disapprove of the law. Support for the law has dwindled since it was officially passed in March 2010, when 41 percent of Americans were in favor of the Affordable Care Act.
The survey’s findings come as the deadline to enroll in Obamacare’s exchanges quickly approaches. Though the Obama administration announced earlier this week it would be extending the deadline to enroll through mid-April — for people who experienced difficulty using healthcare.gov — enrollment figures still fall well short of the White House’s projections.
While the Obama administration looks to the glicth-filled online marketplace as cause for the low enrollment figures, 27 percent said they did not know enough about the law to seek coverage under it.
Additionally, 62 percent said the law’s implementation on Oct. 1, 2013, did not go well at all.
Still, a mere 16 percent said they actually attempted to purchase health insurance through Obamacare’s exchanges.
House Republicans have attempted to repeal the law more than 50 times as more than 6 million Americans received notices of canceled health insurance plans and millions watched the cost of premiums skyrocket. However, only 13 percent of those surveyed said they believed Obamacare will be completely repealed.
With the March 31 deadline to enroll in Obamacare quickly approaching, the White House has made an 11th hour push to boost enrollment figures, especially among 18- to 34-year-olds whose participation is crucial to its success.
The White House spent more than $52 million on paid media for Obamacare between January and March, though it has yet to be determined if the return was worth the price.
President Barack Obama made appearances on the web show “Between Two Ferns” and sat down with radio host Ryan Seacrest and talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres on their respective programs.
First Lady Michelle Obama has also been making the rounds to encourage Americans to enroll in Obamacare, appearing in an ad with several mothers of celebrities. And Vice President Joe Biden was the focus of a BuzzFeed piece posted by the White House on Thursday.
The Associated Press-GfK conducted an online survey of 1,012 adults nationwide from March 20-24, 2014. The margin of error for the study if +/- 3.4 percentage points.
