Most Americans don't like the new federal health care law that begins enrollment next week, according to a new national poll from the University of Connecticut. It's not that Americans don't want the government to help cover the uninsured. It's that they specifically don't like this law: the Affordable Care Act.
Jennifer Necci Dineen, who runs the UConn poll, said, "When you ask specifically about the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, more than half -- 53 percent -- have an unfavorable view of the law. There is still a chunk of the American public, just over 40 percent, that actually don't feel like they have enough information about the law. They don't know how it's going to impact them." (View all the raw data here.)
Across the country, those without insurance will be able to choose from various health insurance plans. Subsidies are available depending on income. If you don't sign up, you could face a federal penalty.
There are millions in the country without insurance. Of those polled, NecciDineen said 27 percent say they don't plan to take advantage of the new law. "In order to get to the families in the state that will benefit from the exchange," she said, "there needs to be a significant amount of information and outreach."
Connecticut has more than 300,000 people without insurance. Officials hope to sign up more than 100,000 in the first year alone.
