CNN Poll Shows Majority of Americans Oppose Obamacare
A CNN/ORC International poll released Monday reveals 54 percent of Americans are opposed to the Affordable Care Act, better known as "Obamacare," three years after the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate passed the bill in March 2010.
The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International, which surveyed 923 adults in the United States by phone on May 17 and 18 after the Republican-controlled House passed legislation to repeal Obamacare. The bill is expected die in the Senate, which holds a Democratic majority.
According to the survey, 35 percent of Americans said they are opposed to Obamacare because they believe it's too liberal, while 16 percent said they feel the legislation isn't liberal enough.
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Likewise, just 16 percent of respondents who align themselves with the Republican Party said they favor Obamacare, whereas almost three quarters of Democrats surveyed said they favor government-controlled health care.
Support for Obamacare, is also low among senior citizens, with only 31 percent or respondents stating their support for the changes being implemented to health care under Obamacare.
As previously reported by The Christian Post, some labor union leaders are already complaining they're getting shortchanged by Obamacare, and are asking the White House to allow the health care exchange subsidies to be used for their worker's health care plans, which could dramatically increase the cost of the Affordable Care Act.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers have both called for repeal or reform of Obamacare, The Hill newspaper reported.
The subsidies to help low-income workers to buy health insurance are paid for in Obamacare through additional taxes on companies that provide health insurance, health care devices and prescription drugs.
Some economists are already estimating that the costs of the new law will be much higher than expected because more companies than expected will drop their health coverage altogether, thus putting more workers in the subsidized exchanges or government-run Medicaid. If labor's employer-provided nonprofit plans are also subsidized, the costs of Obamacare will rise even higher.
Last month, CP also reported that Obamacare isn't just unpopular among citizens, but it's also unpopular with members of Congress and their staff, who want to change a part of the law that requires them to obtain their insurance from the new health care exchanges.
Congressional leaders were holding private talks about making the change until revelation of those secret meetings were revealed by Politico's John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman. Those leaders now appear to be backing away from the idea.
Obamacare requires most Americans to obtain health insurance (the individual mandate). It expands the availability of coverage by expanding Medicaid eligibility and requiring large employers to provide coverage to their employees. The state-level health care exchanges were set up for those who are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare and do not get their coverage from their employer, either because the employer is small and not required to provide coverage, or the employer is large and decided to pay the fine (or tax) rather than provide coverage.
