Survey: Most U.S. clueless about Affordable Care Act

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MENLO PARK, Calif., May 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. survey on the Affordable Care Act indicates Americans are clueless about the law in general and how it will affect their family in particular.

The April tracking survey of the Kaiser Family Foundation found 42 percent were unaware the Affordable Care Act was the law of the land:

-- 12 percent said they thought the law was repealed by Congress.

-- 7 percent said they been overturned by the Supreme Court.

-- 23 percent said they don't know enough to say what the status of the law was.

Forty-nine percent said they did not have enough information about the healthcare reform law to understand how it would impact their own family.

Fifty-eight percent of the uninsured and 56 percent of low-income households -- two groups most affected by healthcare reform -- said they didn't have enough information to understand how the Affordable Care Act would affect their family.

Forty percent of U.S. adults said they got their information on the Affordable Care Act from friends and family; 36 percent said newspapers, radio news or other online news sources; and 30 percent said cable news. About 10 percent reported getting information from a health insurer, a doctor, an employer, or a non-profit organization. Fewer than 10 percent said they got their information from federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, state agencies or health department.

In a news conference Tuesday, President Barack Obama said for the average American, for the 85 percent to 90 percent of Americans who already have health insurance, "this thing's already happened. Key parts of the law have been implemented, including a provision allowing people in their early 20s to remain on their parents' health plans and requirements that health insurers offer preventive benefits such as physical exams and cancer screenings -- mammograms and colonoscopies -- without co-payments."

For these Americans, who are already enrolled in employer-provided health insurance, "Their insurance is more secure," the president said.

Those who are working but whose employer does not offer health insurance and those who currently purchase health insurance as individuals, will be able to choose insurance plans via state exchanges in January and many will receive financial assistance to buy health insurance from the government.

The survey of 1,203 U.S. adults was conducted April 15-20 by Princeton Data Source. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.