FAU Poll Shows Majority of Floridians Want to Keep or Expand Obamacare and Oppose New Healthcare Proposals
BOCA RATON, Fla., March 16, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A majority of Floridians would like to expand the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as Obamacare) or keep the law as is, while nearly three-quarters of them are concerned that people would lose their health insurance if the law is repealed, according to a statewide survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).
When asked about the Affordable Care Act, 46 percent of respondents said they approve of the healthcare law, while 39 percent said they disapprove. Similarly, 39 percent of Floridians would like to expand Obamacare and 14 percent want to keep it as is, while 18 percent want to repeal the law and 29 percent said they would like to replace the law.
Overall, 73 percent were concerned that people would lose their health insurance if Obamacare were repealed. When asked if government should be responsible for ensuring all Americans have healthcare coverage, 64 percent said "yes" while 19 percent disagreed.
Only one of the Republican healthcare proposals, lifting the $2,600 cap on flexible spending accounts to allow workers to set aside more pretax money to pay out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, had net positive support with 43 percent approving and 29 percent opposing.
A proposal to repeal the 3.8 percent tax on investment income, which helps fund Obamacare and affects households making more than $250,000, garnered 31 percent support compared with 40 percent opposition. Likewise, a proposal to replace healthcare subsidies with a refund tax credit of $2,000-$4,000 depending on an individual's age and income had 26 percent support and 38 percent opposition.
Respondents strongly opposed other proposals as well, including reducing federal funding to the Medicaid program, which was opposed by 74 percent. Only 15 percent of respondents support a proposal to increase premiums by 30 percent for a year for those who let their insurance lapse for at least 63 days. A proposal to allow insurers to increase what they charge older consumers was the least popular, with 76 percent opposing.
U.S. President Donald Trump's approval rating was 36 percent.
The online survey, which polled 500 Florida residents from March 10-13, has a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points.
SOURCE FAU Business and Economics Polling Initiative
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