Poll: 48% say federal launch of Obamacare was poor

Nearly half the public says the federal government has done a poor job implementing President Obama’s landmark healthcare law amid website glitches and complaints about canceled policies, a new poll shows.

But the rocky start for the massive healthcare expansion hasn’t changed the country’s overall split on the Affordable Care Act, according to an October tracking poll from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

The poll released Friday found that 44% view the healthcare law unfavorably and 38% view it favorably, similar to results in September and since the law was enacted in 2010.

Federal officials have apologized for the bungled rollout, and they have vowed that the healthcare.gov website for 36 states will be running smoothly by the end of November.

California and 13 other states are running their own health insurance exchanges, apart from the federal marketplace.

Obamacare rolls out: Full coverage

With those persistent technical problems at the national level, 48% said the federal government had done a poor job launching the program and 32% rated its performance as “only fair.”

Even with those low marks, however, 47% said they would like to see Congress expand the law or keep it intact compared to 37% that backed repeal of the law.

In other findings, Americans are noticing more advertising for Obamacare and new insurance exchanges. In October, 59% said they saw some type of advertising about the healthcare law, up from 43% in September.

Open enrollment in government exchanges runs through March 31. But consumers must enroll by Dec. 15 if they want coverage effective Jan. 1.

The Kaiser Family Foundation poll was conducted from Oct. 17 to 23 among a sample of 1,513 adults nationwide. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.

ALSO:

Lack of enrollment workers hampers insurance sign-ups

Insurers limiting doctors, hospitals in exchange health plans

California health exchange chief has health reform ‘in his bones’