5 Charts About Public Opinion on the Reasonably priced Care Act

Notice: This useful resource was initially posted on February 22, 2024, and was most not too long ago up to date October 3, 2025, to incorporate newer polling information on the general public’s views of the ACA.

#1: Attitudes Towards the ACA Proceed to Be Extra Favorable than Unfavorable, Divided Amongst Partisans

Public opinion of the Reasonably priced Care Act (ACA) has been largely divided alongside partisan strains because the regulation was handed in 2010. Following Republican efforts to repeal the ACA in the summertime of 2017, KFF Health Monitoring Polls present an uptick in total favorability in the direction of the regulation, and since then, a bigger share has held a positive than an unfavorable view. The Fall 2025 KFF Health Monitoring Ballot exhibits that about two-thirds U.S. adults (64%) maintain a positive opinion of the ACA whereas a few third (35%) maintain a adverse opinion of the regulation. Views of the ACA are nonetheless largely pushed by partisanship; about 9 in ten Democrats (94%) together with two-thirds of independents (64%) view the regulation favorably, whereas about two-thirds of Republicans (64%) maintain unfavorable views. Discover extra demographic breakdowns utilizing KFF’s interactive: The Public’s Views on the ACA.

#2: Pre-Current Situation Protections Are A few of the Extra Fashionable ACA Provisions

The ACA has been the topic of each authorized challenges and Congressional actions geared toward overturning the 2010 Health Care regulation. Nonetheless, most of the particular provisions included within the regulation are in style and the general public would love them to stay.

For instance, the 2020 California v. Texas case challenged the legality of the person mandate and introduced particular consideration to the regulation’s protections for individuals with pre-existing medical situations. These provisions prohibit insurance coverage firms from denying protection primarily based on an individual’s medical historical past (often known as assured challenge) and prohibit insurance coverage firms from charging these with pre-existing situations extra for protection (often known as group score). As of February 2024, two-thirds of the general public say IT is “essential” for the assured challenge (67%) and group score (65%) provisions to stay regulation, together with majorities of Democrats and independents. About half of Republicans say every of those protections for individuals with pre-existing situations are “essential.” Traditionally, majorities additionally say IT is essential for most of the different ACA provisions to be stored in place, even when the Supreme Court docket dominated the ACA unconstitutional and now not the regulation of the land.

Although majorities say IT is essential for assured challenge to stay regulation, information that this provision is a part of the ACA Health-Monitoring-Ballot-February-2024.pdf”>has dropped over the previous 14 years. As of February 2024, about 4 in ten (39%) adults are conscious that the ACA prohibits insurance coverage firms from denying protection primarily based on an individual’s medical historical past, in comparison with seven in ten adults in June 2010, shortly after the ACA’s inception.

#3: Pre-Current Situation Protections Have an effect on Giant Shares of the Public

One purpose why majorities throughout partisans might assist the ACA’s protections for individuals with pre-existing medical situations is that enormous shares of the general public, no matter age, gender, racial or ethnic identification, and revenue report having somebody with a pre-existing situation of their family. A KFF evaluation estimates that 27% of adults ages 18-64 have a pre-existing situation that might have led to a denial of insurance coverage within the particular person market previous to the implementation of the ACA. A fair bigger share of the general public believes they or somebody of their household might belong on this class. In accordance with the KFF polling information from 2020, about half of the general public say they or somebody of their family suffers from a pre-existing medical situation, corresponding to bronchial asthma, diabetes, or hypertension.¹ 

#4: These Who Say the ACA Has Helped Them Cite Growing Entry

KFF polling from March 2022 exhibits a few quarter of the general public says the ACA has helped them and their household not directly, whereas one in 5 say the regulation has harm them. About half of those that say the ACA helped them say permitting somebody of their household to get or preserve their Health protection has been the primary manner the Health Care regulation has helped them (48%, or 12% of complete adults). Three in ten say the regulation has made IT simpler for them to get the Health Care they want (7% of complete) and one in 5 say IT has lowered the price of their Health Care or Health insurance coverage (5% of complete).

The February 2024 Health Monitoring Ballot additionally reveals 4 in ten (39%) adults say the ACA has made IT simpler for individuals like them to get Health insurance coverage, whereas about one in 4 (23%) say IT has made IT harder. Nonetheless this notion varies by partisanship, as Democrats are nearly thrice as seemingly as Republicans (60% v. 22%) to say the ACA has helped them on this manner.

#5: These Who Say the ACA Has Harm Them Cite Prices

Among the many one in 5 U.S. adults who say the ACA has harm them and their households, most say the regulation has elevated prices of Health Care or Health insurance coverage (59%, 12% of complete). Smaller shares say IT has made IT harder to entry care (22%, 5% of complete), or induced somebody of their household to lose protection (11%, 2% of complete). The excessive prices of Health Care on this nation proceed to be a serious burden for a lot of households.