Most Americans still oppose Obamacare
Just months before kicking in, the health care overhaul isn't winning over people who see it as too liberal.
By Aimee Picchi 3 hours ago
The Affordable Care Act will become reality in a little over seven months, but it's not making much headway in winning over more Americans.
Fifty-four percent of Americans oppose Obamacare, according to a CNN/ORC International poll. Those numbers are little changed from 2010, when President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law.
Not surprisingly, most people in opposition say they're against the law because it's too liberal, although 16% oppose Obamacare because it doesn't go far enough.
How an American feels about the ACA is based largely on his or her political preference, with only 16% of Republicans approving of the act and 75% of Democrats supporting it.
"A majority of younger Americans favor the new health care law; support among other age groups falls as low as 31% among senior citizens. Only a third of whites support the law, compared to six in 10 non-whites. Obamacare also wins majority support in urban areas and in the Northeast, the bluest region of the country," CNN polling director Keating Holland told the news outlet.
The poll raises questions about whether the Obama administration will be able to sway more Americans as the deadline ticks down and enrollment starts in October.
The government is working on an outreach and education plan, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid told MSN Money last month. As part of that effort, it hired public-relations firm Weber Shandwick to create a "strategic and tactical plan," the group said in an email.
Yet so far, that outreach appears to be falling short. Forty-two percent of Americans don't know the Affordable Care Act is still in effect, with about 12% believing Congress got rid of it, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll earlier this month.
Many businesses are struggling with the law as the deadline approaches, with Regal Entertainment Group (RGC +0.91%) stirring controversy by cutting hours for workers rather than providing health insurance under Obamacare.Dunkin' Brands (DNKN +0.45%) lobbied to change the definition of a full-time worker, which under the law is only 30 hours a week.
Though most Americans oppose the law, 43% support it.
Follow Aimee Picchi on Twitter at @aimeepicchi.
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