Five years ago, the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. This anniversary has brought the health care law back into the news cycle, but for much of the past several years, the ACA has faded from the headlines, due in part to the help of insurance agents who have spread the word about what "ObamaCare" is all about and how it affects the average consumer.
While the general public is on the whole more aware of the health care law, new polling numbers suggest that insurance agents and carriers may have more work to do, as the public may not be as well informed as they ought to be.
1 in 5 think penalty comes next year
Close to half of all U.S. adults are unaware that this tax filing season is the first time in which they are required to corroborate to the government that they are covered, whether privately or through employee benefits, according to newly released survey findings from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Respondents to the poll made their lack of understanding apparent by referencing different periods in which they believed they were required to comply with the health care law. For example, roughly 20 percent of the uninformed said they thought the deadline was next year, with 16 percent not knowing when it went into effect. One in 10 said they thought the mandate was implemented last year.
Non-compliance with the health care law carries a financial penalty, equal to 1 percent of consumers' annual income. Those who don't have a plan in place will have to pay the fine when they send their tax returns to the IRS.
"We do know that are some people … that didn't learn about open enrollment and didn't learn about the requirement to have coverage until they paid their taxes," said Andy Slavitt, principal deputy administrator at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to the Washington Examiner. "For many people, this will be the first time they discover they have the opportunity to get coverage for themselves and their families."
For the most part, though, insurance agents, the health care community and the media have been able to get through to the public about this year being the first time that they have to verify to the government that they have bought health insurance. At 53 percent, a majority of the public indicated they understood having to report their coverage status on their 2014 tax returns, the KFF survey revealed. The uninsured are even more aware, with 57 percent of respondents indicating that this was something they understood.
Opinions differ on whether ACA is a good thing
That being said, consumers are still very much divided in whether they think the health care mandate is a good thing for the country. Roughly 43 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the ACA, and 41 percent have a favorable take on the matter, the KFF report detailed.
Despite the uninsured rate dropping, according to recent Gallup polling, the KFF survey also found that many people haven't been directly impacted by the health care law. Nearly 6 in 10 said that they haven't been affected by it one way or another.
