Despite what some politicians may promote, the popularity of the individual mandate contained in the Affordable Care Act is not all that high. An opinion poll from Kaiser Public Opinion showed that overall only 32% of those surveyed looked on the mandate favorably, 45% among Democrats, 32% of Independents and 19% of Republicans.
INDIVIDUAL MANDATE WIDELY KNOWN, BUT LEAST POPULAR PART
One of the consistent tenets in public opinion on the ACA is this: while the law as a whole has never gained majority support, many of its component parts—from the relatively narrow to the core and comprehensive—have been consistently popular over the past two years, with the glaring exception of the individual mandate. Currently, in March 2012, only one in three feel favorable toward the mandate, compared to majorities of the public who favor the law’s other provisions, such as tax credits to small businesses that offer coverage, as well as the consumer‐friendly requirement that plans include easy‐to‐understand summaries of their benefits and costs. Not even a majority of Democrats, who favor the law overall, have a favorable view of the mandate (45 percent). And, between November 2011 and March 2012, intense opposition to the mandate (the proportion who say they have a “very” unfavorable view of it), increased eleven percentage points from 43 percent to 54 percent.
Regardless of your point of view, this is not good news because in my view these results demonstrate a lack of understanding of how the insurance system works and a tendency to cherry pick provisions of the Law that add benefits while discounting the consequences.
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