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One-third of American adults believe that President Trump has successfully repealed Obamacare, a new poll from the Economist and YouGov finds.
The poll of 1,000 adults shows that 31 percent believe Trump has repealed the Affordable Care Act, 49 percent say he hasn’t, and 21 percent are unsure.
Of those who identify as Republican voters, 44 percent say that Trump has repealed Obamacare.
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Just to be clear, Trump hasn’t repealed Obamacare. Most of the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land. But the Republicans’ new tax bill did repeal a key feature of the law, the requirement that all Americans carry health insurance coverage.
This poll, conducted from December 24 to 26, could reflect recent buzz around that part of the tax bill, the news that people have heard about Republicans dismantling a major part of Obamacare.
Obamacare, though, will obviously go on existing. The Medicaid expansion still stands, largely untouched by the Trump administration, and covering millions of Americans. Obamacare’s marketplaces will continue to exist, as will the billions of dollars of subsidies that go towards making coverage purchased there more affordable.
Still, this poll also raises the interesting possibility of a political detente around the Affordable Care Act. A plurality of Republicans believes that the Affordable Care Act has been repealed — or, at the very least, recognizes that Congress has gotten rid of the unpopular mandate, the most-hated part of Obamacare.
Is there much political sense in Republicans continuing to pursue repeal? Or will they point to the tax bill, declare mission accomplished, and move on from an issue that has proved quite unpopular?
Perhaps this poll suggests that, finally, an end to the Obamacare wars may be in sight.
