56% Expect Health Care System To Get Worse Under New Law

Though the Obama administration yesterday tried to assure Americans that many of the problems associated with the health care enrollment website were fixed, a majority of voters continue to believe the health care system will get worse under the new law. Voter ratings for the current system also are slightly higher than they’ve been all year.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 56% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the health care system is likely to get worse under the new national health care law. That’s up from 52% in October and is more similar to the level of pessimism measured from May through August. Just half as many (28%) expect the health care system to get better, while nine percent (9%) think it will remain about the same. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

At the same time, 41% rate the current health care system as good or excellent. That’s up from 37% in October and the highest rating since November 2012. Twenty-four percent (24%) describe the current U.S. health care system as poor, down from 30% in the previous two surveys.

Voters remain overwhelmingly positive about the health care they receive. Eighty-two percent (82%) rate the quality of that health care as good or excellent. Just three percent (3%) view the quality of the health care they receive as poor.

Among the insured, 79% rate their current coverage as good or excellent, consistent with past surveying. Only four percent (4%) regard their health insurance coverage as poor.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on December 1, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Millions of Americans reportedly are being forced to change their health insurance coverage because it does not meet the standards set by the new law and are having to buy more expensive policies in their place. But voters have said consistently and overwhelmingly that individuals should have the right to choose their own level of insurance based on what procedures they want covered and how much they want to spend.

While most Republicans (84%) and voters not affiliated with either major political party (66%) believe the health care system will get worse under Obamacare, 54% of Democrats say the system will get better.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters who have health insurance and 58% of those who don’t agree that the system will get worse under the health care law. Not surprisingly, those who currently have health insurance tend to share a more positive view of the current system than those who are not insured do.

Voters under 40 are less pessimistic than their elders about the future of the U.S. health care system under Obamacare. 

Most voters of all ages oppose the law’s individual mandate which requires every American to have health insurance by January 1 or else face financial penalties. 

Most voters also continue to expect the cost of health care to go up and the quality of care to go down as a result of the law. 

Fifty-five percent (55%) now give the president poor marks for his handling of issues related to health care, a new high for the year. 

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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