A National Business Group on Health (NBGH) survey released yesterday shows that more than half of the employees questioned believe health care costs will rise this year and in succeeding years under Obamacare, while almost a third of those surveyed also think the quality of health care will decline.
“There is some realism and the understanding that there is no free lunch — people are accustomed to costs always going up, even without the ACA,” NBGH President and CEO Helen Darling says. “You can’t add more things to benefits packages and not have the costs go up.”
The survey of 1,500 employeese at 375 large employer-insured firms was conducted prior to the launch of the Obamacare Marketplaces on Oct. 1.
Meanwhile, a Gallup Poll released today showed overall support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rising, though still a minority percentage, despite the glitches associated with the online marketplaces. The Oct. 18-20 survey of 1,500 adults revealed 45 percent in favor of the ACA, up from 41 percent, with 50 percent disapproving, up from 49 percent.
"This suggests that the poor performance of the health exchange sites may not at this point be negatively affecting Americans' views of the ACA overall," Gallup researchers said of the survey.