Perhaps because of the non-stop coverage among media outlets about employee benefits and health insurance coverage, more people are aware of the Affordable Care Act today than have been previously. However, the segment of society that likely most needs to be informed about the health law – i.e. the uninsured – tend to be those who know the least about it and what it means to them.
That's the conclusion of researchers who recently performed a poll among more than 1,000 adults. Done by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the Transamerica Center for Health Studies, the survey revealed that approximately six in 10 considered themselves to be more fully informed about the ACA. That's up from less than half – 48 percent – who felt knowledgeable about the topic when a similar analysis was conducted in July. Additionally, nearly three-quarters felt prepared for the individual mandate requirement, a sharp rise from the 63 percent in summer's first full month.
That being said, when asking those who don't have health insurance about how learned they felt about the health reform law, just 35 percent indicated they were "somewhat" or "very" informed about the ACA. That's up from July, but only by 5 percent. Also, about one-third of respondents said that they'd never heard of the federal or state-based exchanges versus 15 percent of the nationally representative sample.
"More Americans are informed and prepared for the March 31, 2014 mandatory health coverage date, but a significant number have yet to actually sign up for health insurance in the Exchanges or in the traditional insurance market," said Hector De La Torre, executive director of the TCHS. "The uninsured continue to be the least active, which could be because they feel the least prepared and also are the least satisfied with the health care system."
Much of their decision may depend on how much they are willing to spend out-of-pocket. A separate analysis, performed by health information firm HealthPocket, recently broke down what it projects to be the average deductibles for individuals and families of four who buy a health plan through the exchanges.
