Do Americans Expect Too Much from Health Insurance?
Americans expect affordable coverage for pre-existing conditions, access to routine services, and protection from unpredictable and significant financial risk from accidents or illness. As a product designed primarily for risk protection, insurance may not be the most efficient or affordable approach to achieving all of these objectives.
Sep 23, 2017 U.S. News & World Report
Insurance Enrollment Holds Steady in Advance of the 2016 Open Enrollment Period
Since September 2013, the number of people with health insurance coverage has increased by 16.6 million. But since the second ACA open enrollment period in February 2015, the number of people with coverage has remained relatively flat. The third open enrollment period began on November 1. Whether the number of uninsured will continue to decline remains an open question.
Nov 12, 2015 The RAND Blog
Do Young 'Elites' Favor Income Redistribution?
Young 'elites' -- employed Americans who are 40 or younger, with high household incomes and graduate degrees -- and especially Democratic elites have a strong preference for income redistribution.
Oct 8, 2015 The RAND Blog
What Americans Know About King v. Burwell
An upcoming Supreme Court ruling regarding the Affordable Care Act could impact millions of Americans. Are Americans aware of the court case? And if so, what do they know about it?
Jun 12, 2015 The RAND Blog
How the Public Perceives Ebola Risk in the United States
The Ebola outbreak in Africa and the cases in the United States weighed heavily on the minds of policymakers and the public. While the Ebola threat was (and is) certainly real, many Americans greatly overestimated their chances of contracting the deadly disease.
Mar 30, 2015 The RAND Blog
The Great American Working Vacation
For years, vacations were a time for Americans to reset and renew, a time away from work. But more and more, Americans check their email, take calls, and work while on vacation.
Jan 19, 2015 Newsweek
Gay Marriage Gains Support, but It's Still a Partisan Issue
Survey data provides evidence that the majority of American voters support the legalization of gay marriage and think it should be decided at the federal level. Republicans are substantially less likely to support legalization, and lower income, lower educational attainment, being older, and being non-white are significantly associated with lower levels of support.
Dec 29, 2014 Newsweek
Republicans May Make Gains in Midterm Election, but Democrats Remain Strong Nationally
The Republican Party has a strong chance of maintaining control of the House of Representatives and possibly even gaining control of the Senate. But survey results suggest that, while individual races may vary, support for Republican candidates nationwide may be less than support for Democratic candidates.
Nov 4, 2014 The RAND Blog
Adults Are Concerned About Sons Playing Football, Especially the More Highly Educated and Obama 2012 Voters
According to new data, 44 percent of American adults wouldn't be comfortable letting their sons play football. Roughly the same percentage was uncomfortable with their sons playing ice hockey.
Nov 4, 2014 The RAND Blog
Survey Says: House, Senate Races Too Close to Call
Recent survey data suggests competitions for both houses of Congress are too close to call. While reported probability of voting for a given party has remained constant overall, churn in individual responses indicates some voters are changing their minds.
Oct 27, 2014 The RAND Blog
Voters Give Republicans an Edge in Senate Races, House Too Close to Call
Significantly more survey respondents anticipate Republicans will take the Senate for their state compared to those who anticipate Democrats will. However, there is not a clear difference in opinion regarding the race for the House.
Oct 16, 2014 The RAND Blog
With Midterm Elections Less Than a Month Away, New Survey Data Shows Many Voters Have Made Up Their Minds
Survey responses indicate many U.S. voters already know how they'll cast their ballots in the upcoming midterm elections. But RAND's unique methodology provides an interesting perspective on those who don't lean strongly toward Republican or Democratic candidates.
Oct 9, 2014 The RAND Blog
New Survey Data Indicates Increasing Polarization in the Ways Democrats and Republicans View the Role of Government in Reducing Income Inequality
Today, Democrats are more than six times likelier than Republicans to believe the U.S. government should play a role in reducing income inequality. This is not due to differences in age, gender, education, or income distributions among the two parties.
Oct 9, 2014 The RAND Blog
Tracking the Affordable Care Act with the RAND Health Reform Opinion Study
The HROS uses panel data to track changes in public opinion regarding the ACA and insurance coverage. By surveying the same respondents each month, the HROS observes not only aggregate changes, but also individual changes in opinion or insurance coverage over time.
Apr 22, 2014 RWJF's Human Capital Blog
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study: Few Changes After Open Enrollment
At the close of the ACA's open enrollment period, no significant changes in opinion were observed in the RAND Health Reform Opinion Study. This may be because open enrollment has no bearing on the health insurance of many people.
Apr 16, 2014
Survey Estimates Net Gain of 9.3 Million American Adults with Health Insurance
Early survey evidence indicates that the Affordable Care Act has already led to a substantial increase in insurance coverage. Consistent with the ACA's design, this gain in insurance has come not only from new enrollment in the marketplaces, but also from new enrollment in employer coverage and Medicaid.
Apr 8, 2014 The RAND Blog
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study: Attitudes Shift as the ACA's Open Enrollment Draws to a Close
A brighter spotlight on the Affordable Care Act due to its impending open enrollment deadline on March 31 may be further polarizing an already divided populace.
Mar 27, 2014
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study: Steep Decline in Favorable Opinion
With the end of the ACA's open enrollment period looming on March 31, it is perhaps unsurprising that opinions are again changing in a significant way. The final push to encourage or discourage enrollment may be renewing public attention to the ACA.
Mar 19, 2014
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study: Are ACA Opinions Unstable?
For many individuals, opinion is not stable. New information -- whether gleaned from the media; interactions with health care providers, insurers, or peers; or some other channel -- could lead to further changes in opinion.
Mar 11, 2014
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study: Positive Opinion on the ACA Rises
This week, more than 38 percent of respondents reported a favorable opinion of the ACA. This is the highest level of favorable opinion we've seen since we began the RHROS in September.
Mar 5, 2014
No Insurance Last Year? Then You Might Be Undecided About the ACA
As open enrollment in insurance continues, many of those who were uninsured in 2013 remain uninsured. They may be still learning about how the ACA will affect them.
Feb 27, 2014
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study: Stability Masks Churn in ACA Opinion
While we see remarkable overall stability in opinion of the Affordable Care Act over time, 10 to 15 percent of respondents continue to change their responses each month.
Feb 18, 2014
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study Update: Negative Opinion on ACA Rises
Unfavorable overall opinion of the Affordable Care Act jumped compared to last week, while favorable opinion continued to be stable. Whether this shift toward more negative opinion will continue remains to be seen.
Feb 10, 2014
New Numbers May Suggest a Trend Toward Declining Disapproval of the ACA
For the past four weeks, the percentage of individuals with a favorable opinion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has remained stable. However, we are seeing in this week’s numbers a decline in unfavorable opinion accompanied by an uptick in the percentage of individuals who say “don’t know”.
Jan 31, 2014
Public Opinion of the Affordable Care Act Appears to Remain Stable
Overall opinion of the ACA continues to be stable with no discernible changes in the rate of favorable opinion since last week. Unfavorable opinion was in line with findings from the last few weeks of December and the first week of January.
Jan 23, 2014
Digging Deeper Into Public Opinion of the Affordable Care Act
Unfavorable opinion of the ACA has dropped to the lowest point since the opening of the exchanges. Positive opinion has remained stable for the last three weeks.
Jan 15, 2014 The RAND Blog
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study Update: Opinion 'Churn' Continues to Decline
The significant decline in public opinion “churn” regarding the Affordable Care Act continues. Those reporting a change in their opinion dropped from 25 percent from September to November, to 15 percent from November to December, and to less than 10 percent from the first week of December to the first week of January.
Jan 10, 2014
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study Update: Positive Opinion on the ACA Continues to Rise
The latest data from the RAND Health Reform Opinion Study indicates that positive opinion of the ACA continues to increase. The overall favorable rating is now as high as it was in late September, prior to the opening of the health insurance exchanges.
Dec 30, 2013
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study Update: Positive Opinion on ACA Grows, Negative Opinion Stabilizes
Last week we introduced the RAND Health Reform Opinion Study, a new way to measure public opinion of the Affordable Care Act. Negative opinion about the ACA seems to be stabilizing, while positive opinion is increasing. Those undecided about the ACA are decreasing.
Dec 23, 2013
A New Way to Measure Public Opinion of Health Reform
Whether the public will begin to settle on an overall positive or negative perception of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is very much an open question. But understanding how opinion of the law evolves over time could offer valuable insight into Americans' appetite both for the ACA and for health reform more broadly.
Dec 18, 2013 The RAND Blog
Understanding the Affordable Care Act
One of the chief aims of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the expansion of insurance coverage to individuals who at present either cannot afford it or choose not to purchase it. Unfortunately, many Americans lack the financial literacy needed to navigate the numerous and complex options thrust upon them by the ACA.
Oct 2, 2013 The Health Care Blog
