It’s been ten years since the so-called Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, was passed and signed into law by Barack Obama. Its launch was plagued with massive problems and most people saw their premiums skyrocket as a result. Even after all this time, only 42 percent of registered voters believe Obamacare was a good idea, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Another 35 percent think it was a bad idea, and 23 percent have no opinion.
Views on Obamacare are largely split along party lines, with 72 percent of Democrat voters thinking it was a good idea, and 72 percent of Republicans saying it was a bad idea.
Despite being strongly supported by Democrats, the party has shifted further to the left since the passage of Obamacare, and it has become a divisive issue in the Democratic primary. Of the two remaining candidates, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, the former wants to “fix” and expand Obamacare, while the latter wants to completely eliminate the private health insurance system in favor of Medicare for all. According to The Hill, “Eighty-one percent of Democrats said they favor allowing people under age 65 the option to buy their health care coverage through the Medicare program just like one might buy private insurance, though 68 percent also said they back ‘Medicare for All.'”
According to the NBC/WSJ poll, Obamacare has never achieved majority support from registered voters.
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Matt Margolis is the author of Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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