Uninsured skeptical about Obamacare, poll shows
The success of the new health insurance marketplaces that will be open for business next year depends largely on getting the uninsured to use them, but only about one third of Americans without insurance think they're likely to use the new Obamacare marketplaces, according to a new survey.
Only about 32 percent of the uninsured said they were "fairly" or "very" likely to use the state-based, online marketplaces that are referred to as exchanges, according to a Wall Street Journal/ NBC poll conducted Sept. 5-8. As many as 76 percent of uninsured Americans said they didn't understand the Affordable Care Act or how it would affect them; 52 percent think it won't change things for them, while 34 percent of the uninsured think it will have a negative impact on their family.
- Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer keeps up pro-Obamacare fight
- GOP rift over anti-Obamacare strategy stalls budget bill
Open enrollment for the exchanges is slated to start on October 1, and the government aims to enroll 7 million Americans through the exchanges by next spring. For the system to work, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated about 2.7 million of them need to be young adults between the ages 18 and 35 -- younger, healthier people who will help offset the costs of covering older, generally less healthy people.
Last month, the Obama administration awarded $67 million to more than 100 organizations that will help consumers learn about their options for enrollment on the exchanges. Additionally, more than 1,200 community health centers across the country have received over $150 million to help enroll uninsured Americans.
