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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Only 7 percent of Americans say the debut of the government’s new health insurance marketplaces, such as HealthCare.gov, has gone extremely or very well.
WASHINGTON » The debut of the government’s health insurance marketplaces drew a huge audience — and underwhelming reviews.
Just 7 percent of Americans say the rollout of the health exchanges has gone extremely well or very well, according to an AP-GfK poll.
The reaction was somewhat better among supporters of the new health care law but still middling: 19 percent said the rollout went extremely well or very well.
Among the uninsured — a key audience for the health exchanges — 42 percent said they didn’t know enough to judge how well the rollout had gone, suggesting an ongoing lack of awareness about the program in its early days.
The Hawaii Health Connector, which failed to launch on the scheduled start date of Oct. 1, said it is hoping to have the website working by Tuesday.
Despite the bumpy rollout, plenty of Americans are giving the system a try.
Seven percent of Americans reported that somebody in their household has tried to sign up for insurance through the health care exchanges, according to the poll.
While that’s a small percentage, it could represent more than 20 million people.
Three-fourths of those who tried to sign up reported problems, though, and that’s reflected in the poor reviews.
Only about 1 in 10 succeeded in buying health insurance, the poll found. A quarter of those who tried to buy coverage weren’t sure whether they’d succeeded.
Overall, 40 percent of Americans said the launch of the insurance markets hasn’t gone well, 20 percent said it’s gone somewhat well and 30 percent didn’t know what to say. Just 7 percent said the launch had gone "very well" or "somewhat well."
Even among those who support the president’s health care overhaul law, just 19 percent think the rollout has gone extremely well or very well. Forty percent say it’s gone somewhat well, and 18 percent think not too well or not well at all.
The survey offers an early snapshot on use of the new health insurance exchanges set up by states and the federal government under Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
