An increasing number of Americans would rather pay the penalty to be uninsured than opt into a health care program, a Gallup poll released Friday revealed.
“A key to making the Affordable Care Act work as designed is for all Americans to carry health insurance. To ensure this happens, the law stipulates that Americans are subject to fines if they do not have health insurance. When Gallup reminds uninsured Americans of this requirement and asks what they are most likely to do, 56% say they plan to get insurance, while 34% say they are more likely to pay the fine.
In September, Gallup found a slightly larger margin in favor of getting insurance than is the case now, 65% to 25%.”
The rollout of Obamacare has left many individuals frustrated. The government is believed to have spent more than $500 million on Healthcare.gov. Since launching October 1, the site has been taken down multiple times for repairs. Even so, many individuals continue to struggle to even access the enrollment forms.
Insurance companies are now also reporting flawed enrollment data coming to them through the government site. Duplicate forms, missing fields and spouses being listed as children are just a few of the snags companies are struggling with.
While Gallup tracking suggests Americans are no more familiar with healthcare exchanges now than they were before the Obamacare launch, it also glibly noted:
“On the positive side, more than seven in 10 uninsured Americans are aware they need to get insurance. However, the same percentage say they are unfamiliar with the exchanges, the primary place uninsured Americans are supposed to be able to find insurance.”
Perfect — how comforting.