Connect With PPD
Follow Us:
Sections: Polls

Gallup: ObamaCare Approval Bottoms Out Amid Gruber’s Comments

The president’s signature health care law has never enjoyed majority support among the American people, but it now stands at its lowest level of support ever measured by Gallup. The survey conducted by Gallup from Nov. 6-9, 2014, is particularly noteworthy due to Gallup’s better-than-average results juxtaposed to the PPD average of ObamaCare approval polls.

With the second open enrollment period beginning, just 37 percent of Americans say they approve of the law, which is one percentage lower than the previous low in January. Meanwhile, 56 percent disapprove, also a new high by one point.

Gallup conducted one of the two polls to ever show more people approved of the law than not, the other was an ABC/WaPo Poll conducted during the first open enrollment period. In the trend line above, we can see Gallup’s results were released around the time the president won reelection and, even though it was alone in its findings, it wasn’t such a clear outlier as was the case with the other pollster’s survey.

“Americans have never been overly positive toward the ACA, at best showing a roughly equal division between approval and disapproval early on in the law’s implementation,” said Justin McCarthy of Gallup. “The percentage of Americans who approve of the law represents a new numerical low, which could indicate a loss of faith in the law amid the aftermath of the 2014 midterms.”

Or, another interpretation, could be that the results are in response to the latest string of videos catching MIT economist and ObamaCare architect Jonathan Gruber saying Democrats relied upon “a lack of transparency” and “the stupidity of the American voter” to pass the bill. In the initial video, as well as others that followed, Gruber basically provides a window into the liberal Ivory Tower mindset, which is that they know what’s best for the American people, not the American people, themselves.

Or, it could be a combination of both. But the American people aren’t as stupid as some D.C. pols would like to believe. A PPD investigation recently concluded that the president — among many others — were, in fact, in “the know” over the tactics Gruber identified to pass the bill. Unsurprisingly, the American people had already expressed their belief that he did in recent PPD tracking surveys.

With Obama’s veto power certain to be exercised, repeal is unlikely during the president’s final two years in office. However, not only can and will the newly elected Republican majority continue to chop away at the law in spending bills, the law is far from safe.

In July, the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated ObamaCare subsidies for health insurance obtained through the federally-run HealthCare.gov. The ruling was a major blow to the president’s signature health care law, and it teed-up the second time the constitutionality of the law would once again be decided in the U.S. Supreme Court.

On Nov. 7, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the legal challenge to ObamaCare and, now, more voters than not say it is a good idea to delay ObamaCare until the high court has a chance to rule.

A new survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports found a plurality wants to delay implementation of ObamaCare until all legal challenges are exhausted, which may not be likely to happen, either, but demonstrates the law is in for a hard road ahead after fours years.

READ FULL STORY

SubscribeSign In
Richard D. Baris

Rich, the People's Pundit, is the Data Journalism Editor at PPD and Director of the PPD Election Projection Model. He is also the Director of Big Data Poll, and author of "Our Virtuous Republic: The Forgotten Clause in the American Social Contract."

View Comments

  • This was NEVER a health care bill it was ALWAYS a tax and control bill. That is why this administration deliberately lied about it then and continues to lie about it now. But the "gimme free stuff" crowd lapped it up like it was chocolate. The best health care system in the world ruined by one slick talking community agitator from Chicago selling snake oil to a lot of low information, low intelligence people.

    For all those who think it is so great to have health insurance for a $100/mo. or even free (mine is up to $500/month by the way… compared to $25/month auto insurance from Insurance Panda… or $10/month renters insurance from Eagle) , what do you do when it comes to your deductible that's $10K - $12K? Your don't really have health insurance, you just think you do. The taxpayers will still be picking up the cost of these folks just as before but at the additional cost of their own coverage being essentially raped.

    BTW, for all those that believed Obama when he said there would be no more bailouts, think again. When the insurance companies begin to lose money on these policies, and they will, it's written right into the law that the government will make them whole, i.e., bail them out.

    • So you want to go back to a system where insurance companies can put caps on health insurance benefits even if you or your spouse are battling cancer; can bar you from getting coverage because of pre-existing conditions; can kick off your children at age 18; and can spend as much as they want on overhead, and, oh, by the way, can treat pregnancy like a disqualifying precondition?

          • Yeah, that's called freedom. Freedom doesn't live in faux Democracy -- which led to the disgraceful passage of this bill -- but in the freedom to choose what you want and when you want it in a free market. Liberty is messy, but it's better than being ruled and governed by those who pray on one sob story to the another.

            Btw, everyone knows policies not permitting discrimination against pre-existing conditions and extended age benefits for dependents were dominant products in the pre-ObamaCare insurance market. Imagine how much cheaper policies would have been if it was ever a free market to begin with, because it wasn't.

Share
Published by
Richard D. Baris

Recent Posts

Media’s Worst Russian Collusion Sins May Soon Be Repeated

The most damning journalistic sin committed by the media during the era of Russia collusion…

1 year ago

Study: Mask-Mandates and Use Not Associated With Lower Covid-19 Case Growth

The first ecological study finds mask mandates were not effective at slowing the spread of…

4 years ago

Barnes and Baris on Big Tech’s Arbitrary Social Media Bans

On "What Are the Odds?" Monday, Robert Barnes and Rich Baris note how big tech…

4 years ago

Barnes and Baris on Why America First Stands With Israel

On "What Are the Odds?" Monday, Robert Barnes and Rich Baris discuss why America First…

4 years ago

Personal Income Fell Significantly in February, Consumer Spending Weaker than Expected

Personal income fell $1,516.6 billion (7.1%) in February, roughly the consensus forecast, while consumer spending…

4 years ago

Study: Infection, Vaccination Protects Against Covid-19 Variants

Research finds those previously infected by or vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 are not at risk of…

4 years ago

This website uses cookies.