WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- More than seven in 10 Americans who bought new health insurance policies through government exchanges rate their healthcare as "excellent" or "good," on a par with general reviews that all insured Americans give to their health insurance, according to a Gallup poll released Friday.
Among those who purchased new health insurance policies through the exchanges, the majority are about as satisfied with their coverage and healthcare as are other Americans -- suggesting that the end result of the exchange enrollment process is generally a positive one for those who take advantage of it, Gallup found.
In addition to newly insured Americans rating their coverage and the quality of their healthcare positively, they are more satisfied than the average insured American with the cost of their health coverage. Three in four of the newly insured say they are satisfied with this aspect of their healthcare experience, compared with 61 percent among the general population of those with insurance, according to Gallup.
To some degree, this could reflect the fact that many who get insurance through the exchanges receive government subsidies to help reduce the overall cost of their health insurance, Gallup found.
Newly insured Americans' positive attitudes toward their health coverage are manifested in their coverage intentions going forward. Among those who bought a new policy through a government exchange this year, 68 percent say they will renew their current policy, while 7 percent say they plan to get a different policy through a state or federal exchange.
Meanwhile, 15 percent say they will get a different policy from another source, and 2 percent say they will drop their health insurance altogether, according to Gallup.
Aside from Gallup's findings, the federal government's healthcare exchanges are part of the Affordable Healthcare Act, also known as Obamacare, which has been controversial since its implementation.
The main website whereby people would purchase coverage -- www. healthcare.gov -- had myriad technical glitches upon its rollout and the cost of ironing out the problems came at a high price for taxpayers. Moreover, Obamacare has been lambasted by critics who take issue with the plan's expansion of government subsidies for low income individuals. Critics maintain that the middle class will have to pay the costs of Obamacare.
The law has also led to millions of Americans being dropped by their insurance, as the plans did not adhere to Obamacare's guidelines. Some have been forced to switch to high deductible insurance plans that result in policy holders having to pay out of pocket for routine doctors' visits, which can cost up to 200 U.S. dollars per visit.
Obamacare has also grabbed headlines in recent days after news came out that one of the law's key architects, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Jonathan Gruber, indicated the law was intentionally written to be difficult for average Americans to understand.
"Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage," he told a 2013 conference that had not gone under the radar until U.S. media reported it this week. "Call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically, that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass."
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