More than half Americans approve of Obamacare now

Former US President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act is more popular now than it was on Election Day, despite President Trump and the GOP's efforts to dismantle it, a poll said.

Some 55 per cent of Americans now support Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act, up from 42 per cent in November, a new Gallup Poll found. This is the first time that a majority of Americans have approved of the health reform law since Gallup asked in November 2012, CNN Money reported.

The Gallup poll results are more positive than some other polls, though all have shown an uptick in support of the law since the election.

 

According to Gallup, Americans' view of Obamacare is split along party lines, though all groups view the law more favourably now. Some 86 per cent of Democrats and 57 per cent of independents approve it, while 17 per cent of Republicans do. But, in November, only 7 per cent of Republicans felt this way.

Most Americans want to keep the law, but many want to see changes made. Some 26 per cent want Obamacare to remain as is, but 40 per cent think it needs "significant changes." Some 30 per cent want the law repealed, Gallup found.

According to a Kaiser survey, the now-shelved GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare didn't cut it for most Americans. Some 64 per cent said it was a "good thing" that Congress did not pass the American Health Care Act, while only 29 per cent said it was a "bad thing".

Some 55 per cent thought it went too far in cutting existing programs, while only 35 per cent felt it didn't do enough to end Obamacare.