Gallup: At Least 25% of Uninsured Americans Say They Will Stay That Way

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Twenty-five percent of uninsured Americans say they will pay a fine rather than purchase health insurance in 2014, according to a newly released Gallup Poll.

Another 65 percent said they are more likely to purchase health insurance than pay a fine. Under Obamacare, people may sign up for insurance on one of the new exchanges; or they may get coverage through their employer, from Medicaid or Medicare, or by purchasing a plan outside the exchanges.

When Gallup asked uninsured people if they would turn to the new exchanges, 36 percent said no, they do not plan to get health insurance through a state or federal health insurance exchange in 2014. Forty-eight percent of the uninsured said yes, they would buy insurance on one of the exchanges; and 17 percent either hadn’t decided or had no opinion.

According to Gallup, the low level of familiarity with the exchanges may explain why less than half of the uninsured said they will get health insurance for 2014 specifically through a state or federal health insurance exchange.

The Affordable Care Act requires most Americans to buy health insurance by Jan. 1, 2014, or pay a fine. People who don’t get insurance through their employer may purchase it on one of the new health care exchanges — some run by the states, and others run by the federal government.

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