A poll tracking Americans’ views the Affordable Care Act shows public opinion holding steady and closely divided, with 43% expressing a favorable view and 42% with an unfavorable view.
The Kaiser Family Foundation said this was the first “favorable” was ahead since late in 2012, but cautioned that the difference is within the survey’s margin sampling error and is not statistically significant.
The latest poll continues to find sharp partisan divisions, with 70% Democrats viewing the law favorably and 75% Republicans viewing it unfavorably. Independents were split, with 42% favorable and 46% unfavorable.
More than a year after the law’s major provisions took effect, most Americans (56%) say it has had no direct impact on their families, while 19% say it has helped and 22% say it has hurt them.
Respondents were asked if they used information about price and quality when choosing .
Only a number said they have seen quality information about (15%), hospitals (13%) or doctors (10%) in the past 12 months. Even fewer said they used that information: 6% for , 4% for hospitals and 6% for doctors.
Similarly, relatively few people report seeing and using price comparisons involving (18% saw, 9% used), hospitals (6% saw, 2% used) and doctors (6% saw, 3% used).
Asked what they think should be priorities for the President and Congress going forward, respondents focused on and consumer issues.
The top priority overall (and across party lines) is making sure – for chronic conditions, such as HIV, hepatitis, mental illness and cancer, are to those who need them. Three-quarters the public (76%) say this is a “top priority,” including strong majorities Democrats (87%), Republicans (66%) and independents (72%).
Other consumer-related priorities include provider protections and increased transparency related to the prices and quality .
When asked directly about what Congress should do about the , the public remains divided. Just under half want Congress to either expand what the law does (24%) or continue implementing it as is (22%), while about four in 10 want to see Congress either scale back the law (12%) or repeal it entirely (29%). These shares have remained relatively constant for nearly six months.
The poll was conducted from April 8-14 among a random sample 1,506 adults. The margin sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the sample.