Nation/World

53 percent disapprove of Affordable Care Act, 43 percent approve, new poll finds

On the Affordable Care Act's fourth anniversary, a new Pew Research Center poll released Thursday found strong disapproval of the controversial law.

Fifty-three percent disapprove, while 41 percent approve.

At the same time, the poll found, "when opponents of the health care law are asked about the law's future, more want elected officials to try to make it work than to make it fail. In September opponents were more evenly divided over how they wanted elected officials to deal with the law."

The Feb. 27-March 16 survey mirrored the partisan divide, as nearly three in four Democrats liked the law, compared to 37 percent of independents and 8 percent of Republicans.

Pew found that "among Democrats and independents, most who disapprove of the law want elected officials to try to make it work. Republicans are divided: 43 percent say elected officials should try to make the law fail, but nearly as many (40 percent) want them to try to make it work as well as possible. Most Tea Party Republicans, however, say that elected officials should work to make the law fail."

By David Lightman

McClatchy Washington Bureau

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