Poll: Americans Want to See a Bipartisan Fix for Obamacare

NEW YORK (Reuters) —
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and President Donald Trump listen to remarks before signing an executive order making it easier for Americans to buy bare-bones health insurance plans and circumvent Obamacare rules at the White House, October 12. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

As Republican and Democratic lawmakers clash over the future of Obamacare, Americans largely are eager for a bipartisan solution to its shortcomings, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Thursday.

The Oct. 14-23 poll found that 62 percent of Americans want former President Barack Obama’s health-care law to be maintained, up from 54 percent in a January poll. About half – including 51 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of Republicans – want “a bipartisan group” rather than just members of their own parties to improve the health-care system.

Republican lawmakers have repeatedly tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act since it became law in 2010, saying it represents government overreach into personal health-care decisions and drives up prices for consumers.

More than 20 million Americans have obtained medical coverage under Obamacare, and Democrats warn that killing the law would cut many of them off from insurance.

President Donald Trump, who had promised during his 2016 election campaign to repeal and replace Obamacare and has vowed to let the law implode, this month terminated subsidies paid to health insurers that help cover medical expenses for low-income Americans.

Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican, and Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat, have proposed a short-term fix to restore the subsidies for two years to stabilize the individual insurance markets created by Obamacare until a longer-term replacement can be negotiated.

“There are a lot of issues, but I think (the politicians) should just put their differences aside and think about what’s better for everyone else in the country,” said Kadee Matthew, a veterinary technician who lives outside of Birmingham, Alabama, and identifies as a moderate Republican.

Poll participants were split over who would do a better job at the repairs. Democrats were more likely to say the federal government, while Republicans were more likely to prefer that states take the lead.

The majority of those surveyed believe the law has been successful at “expanding health insurance coverage in the U.S.” Responses were split along party lines, with most Democrats saying it was successful and most Republicans saying it was not.

A majority of adults – 56 percent – said they opposed Trump’s decision on subsidies, versus 29 percent who supported it.

Health-care experts say that Trump’s moves to undermine the law and statements declaring Obamacare as “dead” have created confusion among consumers who were planning to enroll, beginning next week, in health coverage for 2018.

Among the people surveyed by Reuters/Ipsos, 11 percent said they believed that Obamacare had ended, versus 67 percent who said the program was “still operating.”

 

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