40% of Americans Spending More on Health Care Now

Americans aren’t feeling great about the costs of health care these days, reporting that they’re spending more now and are feeling more negative about the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

A Bankrate.com poll revealed that 40% of Americans are spending more on health care now than they were a year ago and only 8% said they are spending less. Three times as many people say it is more difficult to handle medical expenses now compared to a year ago.

Parents with children under the age of 18 are finding it more difficult to handle medical expenses than other respondents (31% vs. 23%).

More than a quarter (28%) of respondents also said that they are feeling more negative about the ACA now than a year ago and only 14% are more positive. A separate CNN/ORC International poll revealed that 39% of respondents favor some or all the proposals in the ACA while 57% oppose most or all of the ACA.

"We're just three weeks away from when the new health insurance exchanges will begin accepting applications, and we're still observing a disturbing lack of consumer education," Doug Whiteman, Bankrate.com insurance analyst, said in a statement. "If this doesn't change soon, millions of Americans could miss important deadlines or make uninformed decisions."

A Gallup poll from August revealed a third of Americans admitted they still aren’t familiar with the health reform law, and those who say they are very or somewhat familiar with the law are more likely to disapprove of it.

The biggest question (28%) for those in the Bankrate.com poll is how the ACA will affect their current health coverage. Meanwhile a quarter want to know how the law will affect their household budgets, 20% want to know the ACA is really happening and 15% simply want to know what Obamacare is.