Americans still confused by ObamaCare, poll says
Four years after its passage, most people in the United States believe ObamaCare is the most complicated political issue they face.
Nearly 75 percent of people said the healthcare law is difficult to understand, according to a new poll by The Associated Press and GfK.
{mosads}The Affordable Care Act ranked as the most complicated out of 10 issues surveyed, edging out long-term financing of Social Security, the Federal Reserve’s interest rates and data collection by the National Security Agency.
Only 5 percent of people called the law “very easy” to understand.
The complexity of the Affordable Care Act has been a top criticism throughout more than five years of debate on the law.
Republicans have repeatedly blasted the Obama administration for stacks of regulations — nearly 20,000 pages, according to a now-famous tweet by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — and the massive bill itself, which some lawmakers didn’t fully read.
Former Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), then-chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, acknowledged in 2010 that he did not read all of the legislation, which he said was work for “experts” hired by Congress.
“I don’t think you want me to waste my time to read every page of the healthcare bill,” Baucus said.
The AP-GfK poll, which interviewed 1,044 adults in late July, also found that people are more confused about politics in general. Nearly 80 percent of people believe political issues have become more complex over the last decade.
The same poll found that 78 percent of people believed it was “an important obligation” to stay informed about public issues.
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