In U.S., most say they're unaffected by healthcare law so far

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Most American adults say they and their families are unaffected by the Affordable Care Act, results of a Gallup survey released Tuesday indicated.

While 69 percent of Americans said they haven't been affected so far by provisions that have been rolled out since the healthcare law went into effect, results indicated 18 percent of Americans said they were hurt by the law and 9 percent said they were helped.

Two provisions of the healthcare law went into effect in 2010 -- one allowing adult children to remain on their parents' policies until age 26 and the other making it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions.

In 2014, Americans will be required to have insurance that meets minimum coverage requirements outlined by the ACA or pay a fine.

Of the Americans who said the Affordable Care Act had no effect on their own situation, 70 percent said they currently had no health insurance.

A plurality of 41 percent of Americans said they believe the law will make their healthcare situation worse in the future, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said. About 20 percent said the law would improve their healthcare situation.

Forty-eight percent said the law will make the U.S. healthcare situation worse, 34 percent said they think it will make it better, and 12 percent said they didn't think it would have any effect.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 1,034 adults conducted Saturday and Sunday. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.