With the Supreme Court about to decide
King v. Burwell, the case that will decide whether more than six million people can keep their Obamacare insurance, a
new survey from the Commonwealth Fund shows just how much is at stake in this decision. That includes the political dimension, because it turns out that huge majorities of people newly insured through Obamacare really like it.
Eighty-six percent of the people who are newly insured through Obamacare are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the coverage, whether in private plans or expanded Medicaid. A total of 91 percent are satisfied with the doctors who are covered in their plans, and nearly 70 percent have used their coverage and seen a doctor. Among them, 62 percent say they would not have been able to access or afford this coverage before the law. Those high satisfaction rates continue with the ease with which people have found care—78 percent found it easy to find a primary doctor and 60 percent got their first appointment to see that doctor within two weeks, and 53 percent of people needing to see a specialist got those appointments with in two weeks.
The people who were previously uninsured are the most likely to say they're now better off with coverage—58 percent who have private insurance and 61 percent who have Medicaid feel they are better off. Medicaid has made a tremendous difference, at least in those states where it's been expanded. The uninsured rate in states that have expanded is 16 percent and in the 22 states that haven't expanded, it's more than double at 38 percent. Those are primarily the states that stand to lose Obamacare subsidies in the
King decision, meaning their uninsured rates could go much, much higher.
The new, twisted Republican talking point about saving people from this bad law clearly isn't going to cut it with eighty-six percent of the people who have the most experience with this law and really, really like it. In reverse, they'll probably really, really hate any plan that doesn't preserve the status quo for them.