Lots of issues here. First of all, the Kaiser Family Foundation, as well as Commonwealth, are and always have been advocates for increasing access particularly among the young and lower income. Kaiser has put out some surveys querying people who were not voters, legal residents, or citizens. They have sought to increase funding for some diseases and health care for countries outside the US (South Africa for one). Kaiser's polls are a communication tool to help promote it's public policy positions which are for universal, government-run health insurance IMO. Fine and dandy but context should be considered. This issue continues to be split by party vote. Republicans still overwhelmingly despise it and want it overturned. Democrats are in love, and independents are less swayed either way. Red, you can dismiss the results by looking at the long-term poll results but as the article mentions, there was a significant spike...."public opinion on the law sank to a record low in July. More people than ever (53 percent) last month said they viewed the law unfavorably, an increase of 8 percentage points since June — one of the biggest opinion swings ever.....more people seemingly made up their minds about the law last month. The rate of those without an opinion on the Affordable Care Act dropped from 16 percent in June to 11 percent in July" That says to me that of those who were previously undecided, the trend is to unfavorability. Is that because reality is starting to hit? I don't know but I say start because some of the true financial burden won't be realized until next year, particularly when it comes to increased premiums. Perhaps the elections this Fall will be a bigger indicator. Those independents will contribute the biggest statement I think. So Democrats tout the 9.5 million Americans who are now insured and that's better than free-loading but Republicans claim, "The White House wants everyone to forget about the people who lost their insurance” because of canceled health plans, Cruz said. Even if most of those people have been able to replace it since then, he said, there are still many other Americans who have had their work hours reduced so their employers won’t have to provide health coverage. And he predicted that “this fall, we’re going to see premiums skyrocket again.” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) dismissed the surveys, saying he is “hearing disproportionately from people who are unhappy with the way the law is affecting their own pocketbooks” — especially by “paying for more insurance than they need or want or will ever use.” Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/obamacare-lowers-uninsured-108789_Page2.html#ixzz39FsRiwM1
Wow, I would make sure my insurance company knew they were not getting a discount. That is really an outlier.
The article characterized the curve in that fashion by cherry picking shortest possible timespan. It's classic spin and cleverer than most. But it's no matter, because I know how to read a graph. The favorable/unfavorable lines have been close for years and this swing is not out of line with the variability of opinions all along. The curves cross many times. There is no national consensus on this. Returning to the previous system is not going to attract many independents. The old system sucked with insurance companies making the decisions about your health care. Everything was stacked to provide them with profits by denying insurance to millions of Americans willing to pay for it. Indeed. It's a free country, Supa will soon be here telling us that these people are free to go find another job that provides better benefits. Moreover the people that "lost" their insurance can replace it under Obamacare and most have. Balance that against all the self-employed people who could not get group rates before and could not afford insurance. Balance it against all of the people with pre-existing conditions that the insurance companies would not insure . . . or the ones the companies simply dropped because they had more ailments than average. The old system sucked, advocating for the status quo to return is a loser for the republicans outside of their shrinking base. Political rhetoric. Political rhetoric.
All anybody has to do is to wait until they are 65 and get on Medicare. Just don't get sick before then.
You don't know many people including union members who are insured by it or administer in hospitals affected by it or doctors who are running from it in droves. Wait till all the exemptions the president put in expire and ask again.
Yes, I do. It amazes me how ignorant even some physicians are in regards to it. We put them on a pedestal for their abilities as healers, but they're just as dumb as the rest of us when it comes to political propaganda.
Here is one bit of data the Ds are not interested in sharing: http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag39/Cranial_Distraction/millimenmedicalindex_zps836cd3f1.jpg The cost of PPO insurance for a family of 4 has gone from $9300/yr in 2002 to over $24000/year today. All hail the ACA!!
First of all if you think an 8 point spike, in the months closest to an election, is not significant then I 'd say you may "know how to read a graph" but you certainly don't understand some applications- at the least. Secondly, despite the fact that it's never been that high, the difference between 50 and 53% is the absence of a run-off.
Anyone who takes the last movement on a long, virtually level curve and think that it constitutes a trend is . . . mistaken. What run-off? We are talking about Obamacare and support for it has shifted back and forth by small percentages all along. The numbers are clear.
