Poll: Vast Majority Of Uninsured Will Get Health Insurance Under Obamacare

n this photo taken Thursday, April 11, 2013 Liz DeRouen, 49, left, gets her blood pressure checked by medical assistant Jacklyn Stra, right, at the Sonoma County Indian Health Project in Santa Rosa, Calif. When DeRou... n this photo taken Thursday, April 11, 2013 Liz DeRouen, 49, left, gets her blood pressure checked by medical assistant Jacklyn Stra, right, at the Sonoma County Indian Health Project in Santa Rosa, Calif. When DeRouen needs any kind of health care services, from diabetes counseling to a dental cleaning, she checks into a government-funded clinic in Northern California's wine country that covers all her medical needs. Her care and the medical services for her children and grandchildren are paid for as part of the government's obligations to American Indian tribes dating back nearly a century. But under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, DeRouen and tens of thousands of others who identify as Native American will face a new reality. They will have to buy their own health insurance policies or pay a $695 fine from the Internal Revenue Service unless they can prove they are "Indian enough" to claim one of the few exemptions allowed under the Affordable Care Act's mandate that all Americans carry insurance. MORE LESS

By Tom Kludt

September 30, 2013 2:53 a.m.

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When the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate kicks in on Jan. 1, 2014, a wide majority of uninsured Americans say they will purchase health insurance rather than pay the fine, according to findings released Monday by Gallup.

Sixty-five percent said they are more likely to get health insurance, while a quarter of uninsured Americans said they will pay the fine and 11 percent said they have no opinion.

A little less than half of uninsured Americans – 48 percent — said they will purchase health insurance through one of the state or federal exchanges slated to open on Oct. 1 compared with 36 percent who said they will not.

The House passed a stopgap spending measure on Sunday that aims to delay implementation of the health care law for one year.

Efforts by Republicans to link a continuing resolution to a provision that defunds or delays the Affordable Care Act have greatly raised the risk of a government shutdown, a scenario opposed by much of the public. A poll last week showed that a majority of Americans oppose shutting down the government in order to defund the health care law.

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Tom Kludt (@TomKludt) Tom Kludt is a reporter for Talking Points Memo based in New York City, covering media and national affairs. Originally from South Dakota, Tom joined TPM as an intern in late-2011 and became a staff member during the 2012 election. He can be reached at tom@talkingpointsmemo.com.

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