Most Americans Still Worried Obamacare Health Exchanges Will Fail

As the implementation of the new healthcare law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare) continues, a new survey shows that most Americans think that the exchanges that are designed to provide health insurance will fail.

The Bankrate.com study found that 56 percent of those surveyed are not confident that the Obamacare healthcare insurance exchanges will operate smoothly during this fall's open enrollment period, while 32 percent are “not at all confident” (the most common response) and another 24 percent are “not too confident.”

Fewer than two in five people are confident in the technical capabilities of the exchanges (11% are very confident and 28% are somewhat confident). “This demonstrates the long shadow cast by the bungled rollout of the exchanges last year,” according to Bankrate.com insurance analyst Doug Whiteman.

Americans also fear much higher prices for health plans during the upcoming enrollment season; 46% say this could be a major problem. Only one in 12 Americans report lower monthly health care spending now than a year ago (versus almost half who report higher spending).

“The Obama Administration is still having trouble getting Americans to believe in affordable health care, despite the Department of Health and Human Services' recent report that nearly half the people buying subsidized plans on HealthCare.gov are paying $50 a month or less for their health plans,” Whiteman added.

Thirty-seven percent of Americans say they feel “more negative” now than they did a year ago about the Affordable Care Act's impact on their own health care, more than twice as many as the 16% who feel “more positive.” The negative sentiment is up nine percentage points from August 2013.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) and can be seen in its entirety at www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/health-insurance-survey-opinions-on-obamacare.aspx .