In President Barack Obama's State of the Union address tonight, he will, to some degree, address the healthcare legislation he signed into law in March 2010 -- the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Not only has the law been subject to attacks from Republican lawmakers in Congress and the GOP presidential candidates, but disgruntled states have also forced the issue to the Supreme Court, which will rule on the legality of the individual health insurance mandate later this year.
As Obama discusses the law tonight, here is a list of facts about healthcare to keep in mind:
- More Americans were uninsured in 2011: Data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index finds 17.1% of American adults lacked health insurance in 2011, up from 16.4% in 2010, 16.2% in 2009, and 14.8% in 2008.
- Young adults appear to be benefiting from healthcare law: Fewer Americans aged 18 to 25 were uninsured last year (24.5%) than in 2010 (27.6%). The percentage of uninsured young adults started to decline shortly after the provision of the healthcare law that allows this age group to stay on their parents' plans kicked in.
- Not many satisfied with U.S. healthcare costs: Twenty percent of Americans are satisfied with the total cost of healthcare in the country.
- Most Americans see own healthcare costs going up: More than 7 in 10 Americans continue to say the amount they pay for healthcare has increased.
- Healthcare costs less of an issue for Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries: Seventy-six percent of Americans who have Medicare or Medicaid are satisfied with the total cost they pay for healthcare compared with 59% of Americans who get their insurance from a nongovernmental source.
- Few rate healthcare coverage in U.S. highly: Thirty-three percent of Americans rated healthcare coverage in the country as excellent or good in 2011, down from 39% in 2010. The decline came from Republicans and independents downgrading their views.
- Majority say healthcare system has major problems: Fifty-seven percent of Americans say the U.S. healthcare system today has major problems, and 16% say it is in crisis.
- Americans tilt toward favoring repeal of healthcare law: In a Nov. 3-6, 2011, survey (the last time Gallup asked about the law) 47% of Americans said the healthcare law should be repealed and 42% wanted it kept in place. Republicans clearly wanted it repealed, Democrats wanted it kept in place, and independents were more split, but leaned toward repeal.
- Americans still divided on role of government in providing healthcare: In the same survey, 50% of Americans said it is the federal government's responsibility to make sure all citizens have healthcare and 46% said it is not.
- However, majority still in favor of healthcare system based on private insurance: The November survey found 56% in favor of a healthcare system based mostly on private health insurance, while 39% were supportive of a government-run system.
Be sure to keep these facts on hand as you watch or listen to the president's address tonight and read even more about healthcare in the United States here on Gallup.com.