As the Act marks its fifth anniversary, a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundationfinds the gap between favorable and unfavorable opinions about the law has narrowed to the closest margin in over two years, with 43% saying they have an unfavorable view and 41% saying they have a favorable one.
A majority continue to say their family has not been personally impacted by the law. For those who do report an impact, roughly equal numbers report being helped as report being hurt – also a closer margin than previously measured.
The most common reasons given by those who view the law favorably were that it expands access to and (61%), makes more (10%), and that Americans and the country is better off in general (7%).
For those with an unfavorable view, the most common reasons were financial considerations, including concerns that and costs are increasing and that the law costs too much (26%), opposition to the mandate (18%), and concerns about government overreach (10%).
The majority the public (57%) said that the law has had no direct impact their family, although almost an equal percentage shares report that the law has helped them (19%) as report it has hurt them (22%).
Republicans are more likely to say they have been hurt by the law (40%) than helped by it (8 %), while Democrats are more likely to say the opposite, with 27% saying they have been helped by the law compared to 8% saying they’ve been hurt by it.
Those who report being helped by the law say that it allowed someone in their family to get or keep (9%), that it made it easier to get the they need (5 %), or that it lowered their or costs (4 %).
The main reason named by those who report being hurt by the law is that it increased their or costs (14 %). A smaller percentage say that it made it more difficult to get the they need (4 %) or caused someone in their family to lose their (2 %).
