Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Health

Deep Partisan Divide Remains Over Affordable Care Act In California

The HealthCare.gov website, where people can buy health insurance, is displayed on a laptop screen in Washington, Feb. 9, 2017.
Associated Press
The HealthCare.gov website, where people can buy health insurance, is displayed on a laptop screen in Washington, Feb. 9, 2017.
Deep Partisan Divide Remains Over Affordable Care Act In California
A new statewide poll finds support for the Affordable Care Act has reached record highs in California, but there remains a significant partisan divide.

A new poll reveals support for the Affordable Care Act has hit a new record in California, but the law continues to be seen through a partisan lens.

The poll, from the UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies, finds 65 percent of Californians now support the ACA. Support exceeds 70 percent in the state’s two largest urban regions: Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Poll director Mark Di Camillo said even a majority of people in more conservative parts of the state, including the San Joaquin Valley, favor the ACA.

Advertisement

“What we’re seeing is a broadening of support pretty much across the board, except for the Republican voters," he said.

Only 22 percent of California Republicans support the ACA. The poll shows in contrast, 88 percent of Democrats do.

The poll also reveals 56 percent of Californians are afraid of losing their health insurance if the ACA is repealed. That fear is especially high among people with Medi-Cal coverage.

The ACA repeal bill that passed the House earlier this year would roll back federal support for Medicaid. The contents of a repeal bill in the Senate have yet to be released.