Despite recent problems, support for the Massachusetts health insurance law remains high

A new poll by The Boston Globe and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) finds, eight years into the state’s universal health insurance legislation enacted in 2006, 63% of Massachusetts residents support the law and 18% oppose it, while 7% are not sure, and 12% have not heard or read about the law. The percentage of residents supporting the law remains unchanged since a 2011 Boston Globe/HSPH poll. Support for the law varies by party affiliation, with 77% of Democrats, 60% of Independents, and 49% of Republicans saying they support the legislation. The poll was conducted May 27-June 2, 2014.

The poll also asked Massachusetts residents about their support for the national health care legislation passed in 2010 by President Obama and Congress, which remains controversial nationwide. In contrast to U.S. adults as a whole, a majority (57%) of Massachusetts residents approve of the national legislation, while only a third (34%) disapprove. In comparison, a recent Pew Research Center/USA Today poll found that 41% of U.S. adults approve of the national law and 55% disapprove, indicating that Massachusetts residents are considerably more favorable than Americans as a whole toward the national legislation.

“Despite news reports of rollout problems, at both the state and national levels, the Massachusetts public still supports the state law and the national Affordable Care Act,” said Robert Blendon, Richard L. Menschel Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at Harvard School of Public Health.