Americans Deadlocked Regarding Whether or Not to Repeal Obamacare

NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans are evenly divided regarding whether or not to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, if given the choice, according to a new Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) report. This deadlock among Americans (46% on both sides of the issue) mirrors the division the law has caused in Congress.

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Americans' opinions of Obamacare differ greatly with age. Americans in the 18-29 age group are the most likely to be uninsured (22%); they are also responding most favorably to Obamacare, with 51% opting to keep it. By contrast, Americans age 65 and older are the least likely to be uninsured (3%) and also the most likely to object to Obamacare, with only 32% electing to keep it.

Residents of rural areas are much more likely to want to repeal Obamacare than their urban and suburban counterparts. Almost two in three rural residents (64%) would vote to repeal versus 31% of urban and 48% of suburban residents.

In terms of geography, the Midwest is most in favor of repealing Obamacare (55%), and the Northeast is most in favor of keeping it (just 38% would vote to repeal). And perhaps not surprisingly, 74% of Democrats would vote to keep Obamacare and 79% of Republicans would vote to repeal. Independents sided with repealing, 49% to 41%.

"While the country is divided on Obamacare, consumers must stay focused on getting informed about how the law will affect them," said Bankrate.com insurance analyst Doug Whiteman. "In our September report, 15% of Americans said they were unsure of what Obamacare is. Now that the health insurance exchanges are open, it is more important than ever for consumers to take action on the best option for them."

Thirty-one percent of Americans are feeling more negative about the Affordable Care Act now than they were 12 months ago, almost three times as many as the 11% who are feeling more positive. Upper-middle-income households (annual income $75,000 and up) are the most likely to feel worse about their health insurance situation now versus one year ago.

One in four Americans say it is more difficult to handle medical expenses now than it was a year ago (nearly three times as many as those who say it is easier).

These findings comprise Bankrate.com's second Health Insurance Pulse, a monthly survey that tracks how Americans are feeling about health care and their personal finances. The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) and can be seen in its entirety here:

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/health-insurance-charts-1013.aspx

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PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,003 adults living in the continental United States. Interviews were conducted by landline (503) and cell phone (500, including 244 without a landline phone) in English by Princeton Data Source from September 19-22, 2013. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

About Bankrate, Inc.
Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, our flagship website, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including CreditCards.com, Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, Nationwide Card Services, InsuranceQuotes.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, InsureMe, Bankrate.com.cn, CreditCards.ca, NetQuote.com, and CD.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of nearly 600 local markets in all 50 U.S. states, Bankrate generates over 172,000 distinct rate tables capturing on average over three million pieces of information daily. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 80 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, AOL, CNBC, and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

For more information:
Caroline Farhat
Publicist
Bankrate, Inc. 
caroline.farhat@bankrate.com 
(917) 368-8638

SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.