Gallop: Forty-three percent of uninsured Americans unaware of aware of the “individual mandate”

These low information voters are in for a shock come 2014...3

Via CBS News:

One year after the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that all Americans acquire health insurance, a significant chunk of uninsured Americans are unaware of that looming requirement, a new poll shows.

Forty-three percent of uninsured Americans told Gallup, in a survey conducted June 20-24, that they had not been aware of the “individual mandate” before surveyed on it. Americans overall were more likely to know about the rule — 81 percent said they were aware of it.

Gallup surveyed a random sample of 2,048 adults across the U.S. The poll has a three-point margin of error.

The survey illustrates the challenge facing federal and state governments over the next three months, as they attempt to educate uninsured Americans about the requirement — and the new programs that will be in place to help them get insurance. Starting in January 2014, Americans without health insurance should be able to purchase private plans on an “exchange,” one of the state-based online marketplaces currently under development. Every state is expected to have its own exchange ready for open enrollment by October, though several states have opted to let the federal government run their programs.

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