BOCA RATON, Fla., April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Hispanics nationally have a 60 percent favorable opinion of the Affordable Care Act and are finding it increasingly easier to afford healthcare, according to the latest survey conducted by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI) in the College of Business.

The March poll was conducted six months after a similar survey of Hispanics on Obamacare and offers a snapshot of their evolving opinions. Overall, Hispanics find it easier to afford healthcare (23.1 percent to 15 percent) than they did in September 2014. Only 7.8 percent of those polled said they had no health insurance, compared to 15.7 percent six months earlier.

The numbers were especially pronounced for Hispanic women, as the percentage of females that are uninsured dropped from 20.8 percent to 8.4 percent, and the number of Hispanic females on government insurance jumped 16.1 points (26.2 percent to 42.2 percent).

“Before the Affordable Care Act expansion of health insurance coverage Hispanics were far more likely than whites to be uninsured,” said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., director of BEPI. “The Affordable Care Act is reducing the ethnic disparities in access to healthcare.”  

Hispanic men are more likely to favor the Affordable Care Act than women (66.4 percent to 52.4 percent). The favorable numbers were highest in the southeast at 72 percent, and lowest in the northeast at 40.3 percent. Asked how the healthcare law will affect their vote in the 2016 presidential election, 45.2 percent of Hispanics said they will vote for a candidate that supports the Affordable Care Act, while 31.8 percent stated they would support a candidate that opposes it. Hispanics 35-54 years of age were most likely to vote for candidates that support Obamacare (50.9 percent vs. 32.1 that oppose candidates that support Obamacare).  

Hispanics by a 20-point margin believe the federal government is responsible for providing coverage to its citizens (54 percent to 34 percent), a sentiment that grows stronger for those making the highest incomes (56.8 percent for those making $75,000 and above).

The Obamacare poll was part of a monthly survey by BEPI of consumer optimism among Hispanics, which remained steady at 99.53, up one point from February and slightly down up from its January high of 100.69.