Claudia Deane

Liking The Pieces, Not The Package: Contradictions In Public Opinion During Health Reform

Public opinion played a prominent role during the recent health care reform debate. Critics of reform pointed to poll results as evidence that a majority of Americans opposed sweeping changes. Supporters cited polls showing that people favored many specific aspects of the legislation. A closer examination of past and present polling shows that opinion tracked with historic patterns and was relatively stable, even if the contentious public debate suggested a volatile public mood in 2009 and 2010. Going forward, the public will begin reacting to reform implementation, primarily by judging it in terms of their perceptions of and experiences with what the new law does and does not do for people. These opinions could in turn influence implementation or future legislation.

Voters and Health Reform in the 2008 Presidential Election

Voters view health care as an important issue in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Most voters favor major changes in our health care system. Registered voters who planned to vote for Senator Obama placed higher priority on increasing coverage for the uninsured, and Senator McCains supporters gave higher priority to health care reforms that would not raise taxes.

Regional variations in public opinion on the affordable care act.

One year after passage, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) remains a divisive topic. Most publicly released polls on the law have focused on the views of Americans as a whole. But with much of the responsibility of implementation lying with the states, this essay explores whether opinion differs geographically. The analysis finds that views on the health reform law do differ by region, and these differences are most likely driven by the political leanings of a given area. While opinion nationally differs by age and race, this pattern does not hold when looking by region. Areas that have a larger share of uninsured and are slated to receive greater federal funding under the ACA also do not differ in their opinions. These data suggest that regional variations in attitudes about the ACA are based less on the demographic structure of a region and more on the political ideologies of residents in a given region. As implementation of the law continues, this analysis shows that national opinion data mask important regional variations in views of the ACA.

Public Opinion on the Affordable Care Act at One Year: Continuities and Contradictions

THE CALIFORNIA Journal of Politics & Policy Volume 3, Issue 4 Public Opinion on the Affordable Care Act at One Year: Continuities and Contradictions Claudia Deane, Sarah Cho, Bianca DiJulio, Mollyann Brodie Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Abstract On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Af- fordable Care Act (ACA) into law. The law, which includes provisions to rein in the cost of health care and improve the health delivery system, will be phased in over several years. In the interim, this signature accomplishment remains mired in in- tensely partisan debate, reflective of the fact that it passed the U.S. House and Sen- ate on party line votes, and candidates for the Republican presidential nomination continue to express an interest in repealing it wholesale. In this paper, we rely on a monthly survey series conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation to assess public reaction to the ACA across the first year of its existence, noting both the continuities of opinion and the inherent contradictions in people’s views. Keywords: Affordable Care Act, health policy, medicare, medicaid, health insur- ance Copyright