Barack Obama has been an important part of the history of the United States (US). Obama is the first black president of the US and the one who completely overhauled the health insurance system in the US since the 1960s, which was named Obamacare.
During his eight-year leadership of the US, Barack Obama managed to get through the difficult times of the great recession . When in power, Obama had a program called Obamacare, which did not get much positive response since it was first launched.
As the US presidential leadership changed from Obama to Donald Trump, Obamacare or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) became the talk of the town again in the US. The Republican Party as the new ruler has been aiming to repeal this program from the start.
Instead of getting support, the US public is divided, many are asking for the program to be maintained. Whereas previously, Obamacare was an unpopular program during Obama's term as president.
In a poll by CNN/ORC International released Thursday (19/1/2017) local time, for the first time, more Americans view Obamacare positively than negatively since the program was passed in 2010.
Time wrote that this response shows that the American public does not know what they are getting after (almost) losing this program. Like the sad experience of being left by a lover, the attitude of the American public from the results of the poll shows that 49 percent like this law, slightly more than the 47 percent who oppose it.
The positive response to Obamacare is the first time it has occurred after at least 18 similar polls since March 2010. This occurred amid the increasing discourse to repeal the law when the US leadership changed from Obama to Trump. Trump, who had just been officially elected US president, had repeatedly repeated his promise to repeal the law during the campaign.
Eighty-two percent of respondents think Trump's promise to repeal and replace the program will come true. Of those, a majority -- 55 percent -- expect Republicans to repeal only part of the law and only if a replacement can be enacted at the same time.
In this poll, despite respondents’ growing liking for the law, they did see it as a failure, with 37 percent saying so. While that percentage is up, only 23 percent say it is a success, but it is notable that the increase occurred among Democrats, with 46 percent saying so, up from 19 percent in 2015.
The poll was conducted by telephone between January 12-15, 2017, among 1,000 adults with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Other results of the survey revealed that health care as a priority has increased in the eyes of the American public. As many as 14 percent said that health care is the most important issue in the US.
Obamacare polemics
Obamacare actually has a noble purpose. As quoted from the BBC , the ACA Act wants to reach about 15 percent of the US population who are not yet covered by health insurance, those who do not get insurance from employers and are not covered by the US health programs for the elderly and the poor (Medicare and Medicaid).
The ACA requires all Americans to have health insurance. And to achieve that, it offers subsidies for cheaper health coverage and lowers insurance costs by bringing younger, healthier people into the medical coverage system. It also requires employers with more than 50 full-time employees to offer health insurance.
Ultimately, the law aims to slow the growth of health care spending in the United States, which currently has the highest spending levels in the world
The act also created a state-run health care marketplace, www.healthcare.gov , where Americans can compare prices and purchase health care.
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