Kaiser Health Tracking Poll – October 2017: Open Enrollment and the ACA Marketplaces

https://goo.gl/z9fhV7

The October Kaiser Health Tracking Poll focuses on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) marketplaces as the November 1st open enrollment period approaches, amidst a period of uncertainty on the future of the individual market. The majority of the public think it is more important for President Trump and Congress to work on legislation to stabilize the marketplaces rather than continue efforts to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law (66 percent vs. 29 percent). There are distinct differences by party with the majority of Democrats (85 percent) and independents (67 percent) saying legislation to stabilize the marketplaces is more important while about half of Republicans (51 percent) say it is more important for lawmakers to continue efforts to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law.

One proposed step Congress could take to stabilize the markets and control costs for people who purchase their plans on their own is to guarantee payments to insurance companies that help cover the cost of deductibles and copayments for lower-income Americans (known commonly as ‘cost-sharing reduction’ (CSR) payments). The Trump Administration has announced they will stop making these payments.


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