Nearly two in three uninsured Americans say they will get health insurance by Jan. 1, rather than pay a fine as mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But they won't necessarily buy their insurance through the public exchanges — in fact, less than half say they will.
The figures come from Gallup, which found that 65 percent of uninsured Americans say they will get health insurance, while 25 percent said they'll pay the fine instead. Another 11 percent said they had "no opinion."
As for buying insurance through the public exchanges — which launched just last week — 48 percent of the uninsured said they plan to, while 36 percent said they won't, and 17 percent haven't decided yet.
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Gallup surveyed nearly 5,100 Americans between Sept. 17-26.
The survey also underscored the lack of awareness about the exchanges and other aspects of PPACA. Only 37 percent of those polled said they're familiar with the health exchanges, and that figure drops among those without insurance, the group the exchanges most target.
Awareness for the individual mandate was highest, as 83 percent of Americans are aware they'll be required to have health insurance or pay a fine beginning January.
But as noted in other polls, that awareness drops to 68 percent among those who are uninsured.
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