ObamaCare has never, ever been more popular

Paul Ryan is not giving up on health care
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.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.

Sign up

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.

Explore More
Peter Weber, The Week US

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.