Oh Good: Only 12 Percent Support Obamacare’s Individual Mandate

Daniel Doherty | July 09, 2013 6:00 PM

Guy touched on this earlier but I thought such an eye-popping statistic merited its own post. After all, the “Affordable” Care Act’s infamous individual mandate stipulation -- which was constitutionally upheld as a tax by the Supreme Court last year -- is about as popular today as Congress.

And that’s saying something:

A new survey finds only 12 percent support implementing ObamaCare’s individual mandate, which fines consumers who don't acquire health insurance, in 2014 as prescribed by law.

Forty-one percent said consumers shouldn't have to pay a penalty if they don’t have insurance, according to the poll from HealthPocket, a consumer resource on health insurance.

A plurality, 47 percent, said they were not sure if the fines should take effect as scheduled.

The poll’s findings follow the Obama administration's recent announcement that it will not require larger businesses to offer healthcare coverage until 2015, delaying a key provision in the president’s signature domestic legislation.

As of now, individuals will still be required to carry health insurance starting next year or pay a fine.

Forcing Americans (especially young Americans) to purchase health insurance is one of the least popular components of the law. In fact, it will disproportionally hurt millennials, many of whom are struggling to find work and thus (unnecessarily) will take a financial hit if/when they forgo buying health insurance. As Gallup pointed out last year -- months before the High Court ruled on the legality of the individual mandate -- nearly three-fourths of the public thought the law’s indispensable provision was unconstitutional: