Why cluelessness is ObamaCare's greatest enemy
In this case, ignorance is certainly not bliss
![Obamacare](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xxCzVoXy4kinJoKMPNcS7o-415-80.jpg)
With a key component of the Affordable Care Act set to go live in two weeks, Americans are as confused as ever about what in the heck the law will do, according to two new polls.
The new health care exchanges — online marketplaces where people can buy insurance — open October 1, yet Americans are still largely clueless about the specifics. That could be problematic for the ObamaCare rollout, since the administration will have to not only educate Americans about the law, but also convince them to take advantage of it.
Only 25 percent of respondents in a Pew/USA Today survey say they understand "very well" how the law will affect them. Among the uninsured, 76 percent of respondents in a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll say they don't know how the law will affect them personally, and only 32 percent say they are "fairly" or "very" likely to use the exchanges.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Expanding the pool of insured Americans through the exchanges is a critical goal of the law. With more people enrolling in health care plans, the thinking goes, insurance companies will have to compete for their business, thereby driving down costs for everyone. For all the heated rhetoric over the law — from death panels to the death of freedom — it's really that simple.
With the exchanges nearing, the administration and allied nonprofits have begun an education blitz to inform Americans about the law. Washington, D.C.'s, pro soccer team is even pitching in on that front.
On the other side, some of the law's opponents have launched their own drives to convince uninsured Americans — particularly young adults — to skip the exchanges and pay ObamaCare's penalty for not having coverage.
"We're trying to make it socially acceptable to skip the exchange," says Dean Clancy, vice president of public policy with FreedomWorks, a Tea Party group.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Why young Americans? They tend to have lower medical bills, which helps drive down premiums for everyone.
The Citizens Council for Healthcare Freedom is more direct in its effort to undermine ObamaCare, putting out a flier that explicitly links low enrollment to its stated goal of defeating the law.
"If not enough people enroll, the Exchanges will fail," the flier says. "If the Exchanges fail, Obamacare fails. Defend your freedom by refusing to enroll."
In addition, both new polls find Americans generally opposed to the law. Fifty-three percent of respondents in Pew's survey say they disapprove of the law, while a 44 percent plurality tells NBC that ObamaCare is a bad idea.
However, 27 percent of all respondents say they want their representatives to "do what they can to make the law work as well as possible." A smaller 23 percent of all respondents say they want their lawmakers to "make the law fail," a warning to Republicans in Congress who have threatened to shut down the government unless ObamaCare is defunded.
To put that another way, less than a quarter of all Americans wants Congress to kill the law.
One group, however, is overwhelmingly in favor of actively undermining the law: Tea Party supporters.
Fewer than half of all Republicans and Republican leaners (43 percent) want elected officials who oppose the law to do what they can to make it fail; 37 percent say they should try to make it work as well as possible.
However, 64 percent of Tea Party Republicans oppose the law and want elected officials to do what they can to make it fail. By comparison, just 31 percent of Republicans and Republican leaners who do not agree with the Tea Party favor this approach. [Pew]
You see that same dynamic among congressional Republicans. Those speaking loudest in favor of a government shutdown tend to be Tea Partiers, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) chief among them. The more moderate leadership, meanwhile, is largely opposed to the idea.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
Paloma recipe: the cocktail of the summer
The Week Recommends This refreshing drink balances the fresh and fizzy taste of grapefruit soda with a subtle flavour of smooth tequila
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Mushroom edibles are tripping up users
the explainer The psychedelics can sometimes have questionable components
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Prisons are simply not prepared for extreme heat
Under the radar Inmates are at severe risk of heat-related illness
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published