ObamaCare has never, ever been more popular
For the first time since Gallup started asking about general approval or disapproval of the Affordable Care Act in November 2012, the 2010 health-care overhaul is viewed favorably by a majority of Americans, Gallup reported Tuesday. And the 55 percent approval number is all the more dramatic because just five months ago, only 42 percent of Americans approved of ObamaCare, versus 53 percent who disapproved.
The rise in approval comes from Democrats, Republicans, and especially independents, whose approval rose 17 points since President Trump's election, to 57 percent from 40 percent. So what changed in five months? "Trump vehemently attacked the Affordable Care Act during his presidential campaign — and in the days immediately following his election, the public appeared to agree with him," Gallup said. "However, in the five months since, as Republicans' efforts to replace the law with one of their own have failed to get off the ground, enough Americans have changed their minds about the ACA to create a majority favoring it for the first time."
Trump and House Republicans have started meeting again this week to try and reach agreement on their ObamaCare replacement bill, which House leaders pulled from an imminent vote when it became clear it would fail. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released Tuesday, a 63 percent majority thinks it's a "good thing" that the bill, the American Health Care Act, crashed. Almost half of those people said it's good because the ACHA did not fully repeal ObamaCare, but 75 percent of respondents — including majorities of every group polled — said that given the choice, Trump and the GOP should try to make ObamaCare work rather than make it fail, as Trump has threatened to do.
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The Kaiser Family Foundation found opinions about ObamaCare split evenly, with 46 percent in favor and opposed, and there's a pretty broad consensus on who is responsible for the Affordable Care Act going forward: A 61 percent majority say Trump and the GOP are responsible for any problems with the law, while 31 percent say former President Barack Obama and his party still own ObamaCare. You can find more results at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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