July Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Public Still Divided on ACA, Few Believe the Law Will Improve Consumer Protections

Overall public opinion on the health reform law remains unchanged this month, with 42 percent of Americans holding a favorable view and 43 percent an unfavorable view. Even though previous Health Tracking polls have consistently shown that consumer protections were one of the least controversial and most widely supported provisions of the health reform law, the July poll finds that just one in five Americans think the law will lead to improvements in consumer protections for the average person with health insurance. Higher shares of Americans expect to see the law bring about improvements in access to health care (49 percent), health care costs (28 percent) and quality (26 percent). On the other hand, pluralities expect the cost of care for the nation as a whole (49 percent) and the quality of health care in the nation (41 percent) to get worse.

The July poll also found that more Americans are reporting that their health insurance premiums and cost-sharing are a financial burden. For more on that and additional polling on how Congress should deal with the federal budget deficit, check out the topline, chartpack, and summary of the findings.