Toward An Understanding of Rural Support For ACA Repeal

Abstract

Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010, millions of Americans without health insurance have declined. More rural Americans than urban Americans have obtained health insurance from the ACA. Despite the program's success, Republicans have made numerous attempts to have the ACA repealed, and Republican voters dominate rural America. This manuscript seeks to understand pastoral support for the ACA repeal. Methods: Data for the study were obtained from the 2020 Cooperative Election Study (CES), and responses from 49,740 individuals were utilized. Logit analysis was used to explore the extent to which people supported or opposed the repeal of ACA along the Rural/Urban Continuum. Other variables were statistically controlled in the analysis. Findings: Data analyzed in this manuscript found that persons with characteristics most similar to those who would benefit most from the ACA are most likely to support complete ACA repeal. Significantly, rural residents were more likely to support ACA repeal than urban residents. Most Republicans supported repeal, while nearly all Democrats were opposed. Conclusions: Individuals tend to support their party platform even if it harms them, their community, or persons like them.