ACA polarizes voters despite lack of understanding of legislation

The Affordable Care Act has polarized Republicans and Democrats despite the fact that many voters cannot explain the healthcare reform legislation to any significant degree, said Robert Blendon, ScD, professor of health policy and political analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health during a speech to the Massachusetts Medical Society on Oct. 18.

“Eighty-three percent of Republicans in America oppose this law,” said Blendon. “But Democrats love this bill. It’s a litmus test for being a Democrat today. If you don’t like this bill, you are not a Democrat.”

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Compounding the polarization, said Blendon, is the general lack of understanding about the specifics of the healthcare reform legislation that exists among most Americans.

“The level of understanding of what the ACA does is staggeringly low, even for people who love it,” he said. “Most Americans do not understand the context of the legislative policy for how it will affect their lives.”

Instead of relying on their own knowledge of the law, most Americans follow the lead of the high-profile people they respect, said Blendon.

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“(Americans) don’t know the content of this bill,” he said. “They cue off of the people who are important to them,” such as political pundits and talk show personalities.

According to Blendon, primary elections with low voter turnout are a major barrier for making improvements to the nation’s healthcare industry.

“I think the biggest healthcare problem in America is the U.S. primary system,” he said. “I actually studied views of people who voted in primaries … in some states, less than 10 percent of adults voted and their views are unbelievably extreme ... Issues in medicine and healthcare are complex; they are not easy. We’ve got to get them out of primary politics.”

In order to make any headway with solving the healthcare problems that are facing the nation, partisan politics must first be removed from the mix, said Blendon.

“From my point of view, in politics, I am incredibly troubled ... People are unable to agree on anything across party lines,” he added. “This is a very serious problem for fixing healthcare, which is not a bumper sticker issue.”