Most folks would agree that if something isnt broken, then theres no need to fix it, but few believe that argument applies to the Affordable Care Act. A flurry of recent research suggests that Americans think the polarizing law deserves public patience, while other findings note that its still unpopular.
Slightly more than half of 1,000 U.S. adults (52%) polled by Rasmussen would rather see Congress fix the ACA than repeal it (30%), while just 13% said theyd prefer that it remain unchanged. The findings run contrary to previous Rasmussen Reports with a critical bent.
Pulse Opinion Research, LLC, which conducted the Rasmussen survey, used the same automated polling methodology as Gallup, Harris and Roper. Phone calls were placed to randomly selected numbers through a process that seeks appropriate geographic representation from a demographically diverse panel. The margin of error was plus-or-minus 3 percentage points.
A report in The Huffington Post cited several other surveys over the past few months whose findings mirrored Rasmussens conclusion. They included:
- A Kaiser Health Tracking Poll done in November, which found that 42% of respondents supported the law in its current form or even an expansion vs. 29% who favored a full repeal and 17% who wanted it to be scaled back.
- An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll conducted in October, which found that 55% of respondents said theyd support a congressional candidate who supported the ACA vs. 43% who would tie their vote to someone who backs a repeal of the law.
- A Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted in September, which noted that more voters would like to give the ACA a chance to work than see it repealed (57% vs. 39%).
Despite these findings, other research suggests that the ACA is still widely unpopular. A November Gallup poll, for instance, noted how ACA critics outweighed supporters (56% vs. 37%).
Several other Rasmussen Reports also focused on public disenchantment with the law. One poll found that 52% had an unfavorable view vs. 44%, who had a favorable view, while another concluded that ACA implementation should be placed on hold until all legal challenges are exhausted (47% said so vs. 40%, who disagreed).
