Health Reform Survey

About two months away from the deadline for uninsured Americans to sign up for health coverage, a new survey suggests that there is still a lot of confusion about the law. Bankrate.com Insurance Analyst Doug Whiteman says that more than half of Americans, 55%, still don’t know the last day that they can sign up or pay a penalty and 33% said they feel negatively about the reform law.  “It shows that there is a lot of skepticism about this law, I would think in particular based on the negative publicity over the few months about the moving deadlines, the botched opening of the health exchanges and so on.” Whiteman says the least likely to have insurance is also the least likely to be informed.  “We do think it is somewhat worrisome that young adults between 18 and 29, the age group least likely to have health insurance, also in our survey was the group least informed about the deadline.” More than half of Americans are not taking the deadline seriously, adds Whiteman.  “62%, more than three out of five, think that the government will push the deadline back to a later date.  I think this demonstrates that the administration has lost some credibility when it comes to deadlines.” Whiteman says the survey also asked people how they feel about the impact of the reform law on their own health insurance.  “People who feel more negative, now a number about 33% that is a third of the overall population, that is tied really with the highest that we have seen in six months of doing these surveys.” Do not assume the government will push the deadline back again, concludes Whiteman. “Americans should not assume that the March 31 deadline will be moved because after all if you do miss the deadline you are going to have to wait until the next open enrollment period, which doesn’t begin until mid November, if you want health insurance.” To read the entire survey on health reform, visit www.Bankrate.com.