As millions more people get health insurance, and none of the terrible things the Republicans warned of have happened, Obamacare is becoming more popular with the general public. That's what a new survey by the prestigious Kaiser Family Foundation shows.
Note in the top chart that for the first time in over two and a half years, more people view the program as favorable than unfavorable (although the difference is within the poll's margin of error, which means the public is now split). That's a good thing, since previously most people viewed the program unfavorably.
But even though the public is now split over the program in general, only a minority want to see it repealed (or scaled back). In the Kaiser Poll, 46% want to keep the program as it is or expand it, while 41% want to repeal the program or scale it back. And a new Bloomberg Poll shows an even better percentage wanting the program. About 12% would keep it as it is, 51% want to see how it works and improve it, and only 35% want to repeal it.
What kind of modifications (or improvements) would people like to see? The most popular ones are shown in the chart below.
Figure 6: “Top Health Care Priorities” for the President and CongressTotalDemocratsIndependentsRepublicans
Making sure that high-cost drugs for chronic conditions, such as HIV, hepatitis, mental illness and cancer, are affordable to those who need them76877266
Government action to lower prescription drug prices60685751
Protecting people from being charged high prices when they visit hospitals covered by their health plan but are seen by a doctor not covered by their plan56636244
Making sure health plans have sufficient provider networks55645843
Making information about the price of doctors’ visits, procedures, and tests, such as hip replacements and MRIs more available to patients55625843
Making information about what doctors and hospitals are covered under different health insurance plans more available54605546
Making information comparing the quality of health care provided by doctors and hospitals more available to patients54645347
Changing current eligibility rules so that financial help under the health care law to purchase health insurance is available to more people50724431
Requiring all states to expand their Medicaid program to cover more low-income, uninsured adults50744328
