---
title: "Views of health care law break sharply along partisan lines"
description: "Democrats and Republicans remain extraordinarily divided in their views of the Affordable Care Act – and over what Congress should do about it – at a time when the law has become a major issue in the closing stages of the race for the White House."
date: "2016-10-27"
authors:
  - name: "John Gramlich"
    job_title: "Associate Director, Short Reads"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/john-gramlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/10/27/health-care-law-partisan-divide/"
---

# Views of health care law break sharply along partisan lines

Democrats and Republicans remain extraordinarily divided in their views of the Affordable Care Act – and over what Congress should do about it – at a time when the law has [become a major issue](http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/25/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-obamacare/index.html) in the closing stages of the race for the White House.

[![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/10/FT_16.10.27_ACApartisan_DemsReps.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/10/27/health-care-law-partisan-divide/ft_16-10-27_acapartisan_demsreps/)

About eight-in-ten Democrats (82%) approve of the law while 91% of Republicans disapprove of it, according to a new [Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2016/10/27/as-election-nears-voters-divided-over-democracy-and-respect). Independents are more evenly split on the question, with 41% approving and 54% disapproving. But among independents who lean to the Democratic Party, 64% approve of the law, while 85% of independents who lean Republican disapprove of it.

Partisans have [long been sharply divided](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/03/04/opinions-on-obamacare-remain-divided-along-party-lines-as-supreme-court-hears-new-challenge/) over the health care overhaul itself, but they are growing farther apart in their views over what should be done about the law. About two-thirds of Democrats (68%) now say Congress should expand the law, up from 50% in March 2012. Just 18% of Democrats now say Congress should keep the law as is, down from 31% four years ago. Among Republicans, 85% favor repeal, up from 74% in March 2012, while the share that supports keeping the law as is has declined from 10% then to 5% now.

The new survey was conducted Oct. 20-25 – a period that mostly predates an Oct. 24 announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services that insurance premiums under the law [are expected to rise by an average of 22%](http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/10/24/499190020/rates-rise-again-for-obamacare-health-plans-but-so-do-subsidies) next year. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has [seized on the news](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/us/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-affordable-care-act.html?_r=0), telling supporters in Florida this week that repealing the law “is one of the single most important reasons that we must win on Nov. 8.”

An overwhelming 94% of registered voters who support Trump disapprove of the Affordable Care Act. By contrast, about eight-in-ten supporters of Democrat Hillary Clinton (82%) approve of it. This represents one of the biggest [areas of disagreement](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/10/20/6-charts-that-show-where-clinton-and-trump-supporters-differ/) between supporters of the two candidates.

[![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/10/FT_16.10.27_ACApartisan_congress.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/10/27/health-care-law-partisan-divide/ft_16-10-27_acapartisan_congress/)

About seven-in-ten (69%) of those who support Clinton say Congress should expand the law, while 20% of her backers say Congress should leave it as is. But among Trump backers, 88% say Congress should repeal the law. These views are mostly in line with what each candidate has proposed: Clinton has promised to “[defend and expand](https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/health-care/)” the law while Trump has vowed to “[repeal and replace](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/health-care/)” it.

Overall, views of the health care law are divided among the general public. The law has the approval of 46% of adults while 51% disapprove, little changed since April, when 44% approved and 54% disapproved. In July 2015 – shortly after the Supreme Court upheld the federal government’s ability to provide insurance subsidies via the federal exchanges established by the law – nearly equal shares approved (48%) and disapproved (49%) of the law.

Among all adults, 40% say Congress should expand the law and an additional 13% say lawmakers should leave it as is. That compares with 44% who want Congress to repeal the law. Since March 2012, both the shares who want to expand the law and repeal it have increased (up 7 and 6 percentage points, respectively), while the share who say Congress should leave the law as it is has declined.