Obamacare Approval Up Despite HealthCare.gov Glitches

Despite a problematic website, support for Obamacare grew slightly this month, with 45 percent of Americans now approving of the health care law and 50 percent disapproving, according to a recent Gallup poll. That’s a 4-percentage point increase in approval since August’s survey.

Researchers found that almost all Republicans (86 percent) still dislike the Affordable Care Act, the formal name of the health-care law, while the vast majority of Democrats (83 percent) like it. Additionally, most young Americans approve of the act, as 51 percent of those 18 to 29 generally supporting it while 44 percent take the opposing view.

The new poll is just a modest bit of good news coming out about the law, which has been receiving much negative press after a difficult rollout of the insurance exchange website HealthCare.gov on Oct. 1. Technical glitches have been preventing millions across the nation from accessing the website in order to buy coverage through the marketplace.

President Barack Obama on Monday assured that people are working to fix the issues, but encouraged those in need of health coverage through Obamacare to use other channels such as call centers and paper applications to apply. The site was intended to make it easier for people to sign up for coverage.

Meanwhile, CNN reported on Wednesday that there were signs of problems with the health care website before it launched, as insurance companies complained about crashes during a test run. The president wasn’t made aware of the issues until it was already launched.

“No one could be more frustrated than I am and the president,” Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, told CNN. Some Republicans have called for her resignation.

“We’re not at all satisfied with the workings of the website,” she added. “We want it to be smooth and easy and let consumers compare plans.”

Gallup’s poll was a survey of 1,528 adults conducted Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It has a 3 percent margin of error.