Americans now have a significantly more negative view of the health care reform law, with the number of those who do see it favorably falling to its lowest point since it was passed in March 2010, according to a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll conducted Oct. 13-18.
Fifty-one percent of those surveyed had an unfavorable view of the law compared to 34 percent who regarded it favorably, with 15 percent undecided.
Kaiser saw a variety of factors that contributed to this trend, including the sharp criticism of the legislation during the recent Republican presidential debates and the degree to which public attention has turned to the struggling economy and jobs, and even the issues raised by the Occupy Wall Street protests. seventy-one percent of Americans believe that the president and Congress are paying too little attention to the economy and jobs compared to 50 percent who say that about health care reform.
Credit: Kaiser Family Foundation
The number of Americans who now believe the law will make no difference to themselves and their families rose from 34 percent in September to 44 percent, and those believing the law will make them worse off remaining relatively the same, at 31 percent. Only 18 percent believe they will be better off compared to 27 percent in September.
But perhaps as significant as all these factors is that Democrats, the major political force behind the law’s passage, have become less enthusiastic about it. For much of the time after the law’s passage, the number of Democrats who had a favorable view of it tended to hover in the high 60s or around 70 percent, but now that number is 52 percent.