Americans' approval of the 2010 Affordable Care Act has edged up to a new high of 57% as a Dec. 31 deadline approaches for enhanced health insurance subsidies created during the pandemic unless Congress acts to extend them.
Gallup has tracked public approval of the ACA since 2012. The latest rating is up 3 points from last year and slightly above prior highs of 55% recorded in April 2017 and November 2020, according to Gallup's reporting on the survey results.
The findings are from the West Health-Gallup Health and Healthcare Survey conducted Nov. 3-25 among 1,321 U.S. adults. Gallup reported a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level for results based on the full national sample.
Independents drove much of the year-over-year increase in approval, with 63% saying they approve of the ACA, up 10 points to a record high.
Views remain sharply divided by party, with 91% of Democrats approving compared with 15% of Republicans.
Gallup also found Americans split over what should happen next. Among those who approve of the ACA, 49% said they would keep it in place but make significant changes, while 45% preferred keeping it largely as is.
Among those who disapprove, 72% favored repealing and replacing the law compared with 24% who preferred keeping it with significant changes.
In a separate nationally representative web survey, Gallup found 73% of Americans favor federal funding to help hospitals cover medical expenses for uninsured patients, though support narrowed when residency status was specified.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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