Do A Majority Of Americans Want Obamacare

What proportion of Americans want Obamacare repealed?

There are dozens of polls, with results all over the map. Most of the variation in numbers can be explained by asking different questions and how the answers are classified.This poll shows a three-way split between implementation, repair, and repeal of the law, with much smaller pools of support for defunding or expansion of the law.This poll doesn't break down the demographics for every answer, but they do break down the party affiliation (Democratic, Independent, or Republican) of who they would blame if the government were to shut down (the poll having preceded the shutdown). Republicans are mixed about whether to blame congressional Republicans, and Democrats are mixed about whether to blame congressional Democrats and are extremely protective of President Obama. Independents are eager to blame all three groups, though they seem to blame congressional Republicans somewhat more. It also breaks down support for the new insurance exchanges based on how people are presently insured, with the highest support coming from those who get their insurance from government already and from government insurance. The uninsured and self-insured are somewhat wary about participation. I suppose it is the insurance mandate that is addressed to those latter groups, while the insurance exchange is primarily directed at those who get their insurance through their employers.If the question is simplified to either for or against, a picture emerges that is more favorable toward repeal, though the gap is still rather narrow.There is no demographic breakdown for this graph.A similarly narrow majority of 52% Expect Obamacare to Make Health Care System Worse. I don't see any demographics breakdown by answer given.

If Obamacare is so bad, why do Republicans want to keep it?

Republicans don’t want to keep Obamacare as it has real problems. It improved access and did a little to control costs but did not cover ALL Americans while lowering the cost of premiums, copays, deductibles by 60 to 70% as the head of the Republican Party, Donald Trump has promised.Now Trump knows how to make good on these promises by having the government negotiate prices with all the stakeholders. But he does not care to put pressure on the Republicans to actually do what he promised on the stump and what he continually promises in interviews.

Do Americans want affordable healthcare?

The general answer is Yes, but the expression “the devil is in the details” applies here. What we have never been able to agree upon in this country is the answer to the question “What healthcare should we make sure everyone gets?”There is a wide variation in the cost of healthcare among different regions in the US. If the standards of care and the credentialing regulations in our lowest cost regions were the nationwide standard, our care would be far more affordable. As the Dartmouth Atlas Survey has shown year after year, there is a difference of 5x between the highest and lowest cost regions with no discernible differences in outcomes. For example, the amount of time spent in intensive care (the most expensive kind of care) in the last 6 months of life varies by more than 2 to 1 between higher and lower cost regions.As long as healthcare is a jobs and profit engine in our economy, we will see pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and medical device manufacturers trying to stimulate usage and need that, in another country, is not considered essential healthcare. Rigorous clinical reviews and approvals are required before someone gets discretionary surgeries in other countries; here, if a patient and a doctor agree, the surgery goes forward.If anyone wants a small example of the difference between America and other countries in terms of why our care is much less affordable, watch American TV and, in particular, the ads for Viagra, which are clearly soliciting people to manufacture an ailment that may be exaggerated and, in other countries, probably does not covered under health plans to the same degree.We cannot turn on a TV program or a radio station today without listening to ads from hospitals that are touting the latest treatment for a medical condition. We pay for all that advertising in our medical bills. We also pay for ultramodern facilities, especially the latest and greatest diagnostic equipment, even if it is overkill, and for overuse of our emergency departments.We also pay for patients who wander around the healthcare system going to different specialists, instead of being guided by a single primary care physician.The answer to your question is that Americans want affordable care, but they want many other things more, all of which make care less affordable for everyone.

Do Americans who do not want to have single-payer healthcare want their fellow Americans who cannot afford health insurance to die?

The three arguments I’ve been given on that topic were:(1) “Of course I don’t want poor people to die. Those who are truly deserving should certainly have government help, but most poor people got that way because they’re lazy.” ( In other words, they want to select which people are “deserving,” and which aren’t, often based on prejudices and personal loyalties and snap conclusions.)(2) “I think private charities should handle it.” (In other words, “I don’t care who takes responsibility for the community, as long as I don’t have to be part of it.”)(3) “No one dies due to lack of insurance. You see, we’ve got this little thing called an emergency room that you can go to any time you get sick, and they’ll see you even if you have no insurance and no money.” (Never mind that the ER isn’t set up to be a substitute for ongoing health care; never mind that you’re still expected to pay for your ER treatment, even if you didn’t bring money with you. They sort of gloss over that part.)They also tend not to consider one key point: that uninsured people don’t just die. Often, they can’t be as productive as they might be, because untreated illness (physical and psychiatric) tends to sap energy. Also, untreated problems often lead to much bigger and more complex problems, that can be quite disabling. So, when we leave millions of Americans without regular health care, that poses a big risk to our society, in terms of productivity.Even a person with no empathy should be able to understand why that isn’t a good thing.