Pop Quiz: Assessing Americans' Familiarity With the Health Care Law

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is coming up on a year old, but in the midst of continuing debate over the merits of the landmark health care overhaul, how well do Americans understand what the new law will actually do? As the 112th Congress prepared to take office and the discussion of repeal was on the rise, the Foundation included a ten-question “quiz” on the December Kaiser Health Tracking poll to try to answer this question. The quiz asked Americans whether they thought a series of ten provisions were included in the new law, ranging from five items that are part of the law (i.e., Medicaid expansion, changes in private health insurance), to five items that popped up at times in the larger debate but are not in the ACA, such as coverage for illegal immigrants and so-called “death panels.” This Data Note looks at the public’s familiarity with the ACA through the lens of their quiz results. 

Data Note (.pdf)