Americans Unhappy With Obamacare Shopping Experience

The Obama administration has revamped its health care leadership and poured millions of dollars into improving the website it created for Americans to shop for government-subsidized heath plans, but a new survey shows most people still think shopping for health insurance is just as bad or worse than doing their taxes or getting a cavity filled.

The results come from the Health Insurance Pulse Survey, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates and released Tuesday by Bankrate.com, a personal finance publisher. Findings included health insurance spending preferences by age and income, as well as Americans' feelings on health insurance reform.

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To conduct the survey, Princeton Survey Research Associates talked to more than 1,000 adults by phone in English and Spanish. It found many people are not thrilled with the way the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, has played out. Almost half of Americans say they want major or minor changes to be made to the law, while 16 percent say they want to keep it as is.

The number of Americans who want to repeal Obamacare completely is down, however, from 30 percent in June of this year to 26 percent, according to the survey.

The law requires Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. To help alleviate the cost of insurance, the federal government, as well as some states, have created websites called exchanges or marketplaces that allow consumers to shop for health plans at various cost and benefit levels. Officials reported last week that since the latest kickoff of sign-ups on the federal website – Healthcare.gov – on Nov. 15, nearly half a million people have selected new plans, whether they were previously uninsured or returning to the website again after last year.

Though Healthcare.gov faced numerous technological glitches last year, officials say it has largely improved. Still, consumers who used it last year have said they would avoid the site, and a Supreme Court decision is pending whether certain tax subsidies for health insurance are legal. If Americans who bought health insurance last year on the site do not return to it this year, they will be automatically re-enrolled in the same plan, but it may be more expensive than last year or more expensive than newer plans offered in the marketplace.

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Deciphering a health plan's benefits and how much one costs can be time-consuming and confusing, whether selecting a plan through an employer or directly through an insurance broker or company. Consumers need to make sure the plan they pick covers the medical needs they have, and that particular medications, doctors or hospitals are included.

In the Bankrate.com survey, respondents were asked to compare shopping for health insurance with unpleasant experiences. The results:

• 82 percent of Americans who recently shopped for health insurance say it's just as bad or even worse than doing their own taxes.
• 75 percent say shopping for health insurance is the same as or worse than getting the middle seat on a crowded plane.
• 68 percent say shopping for health insurance is the same as or worse than getting drilled by the dentist for a cavity.

"It's much better to go through the pain of researching and choosing a plan now than it is to figure out how you're going to pay for an unexpected hospital visit during an emergency," Doug Whiteman, a Brankrate.com insurance analyst, said in a statement.

[MORE: Obama's Immigration Action Still Leaves Health Coverage Gap]

Survey results varied on whether Americans prefer to pay more in premiums – the monthly fee for health insurance – or whether they prefer to pay more up front in deductibles before insurance kicks in to help.

• More than 4 in 10 Americans prefer a high-deductible health insurance plan with a lower monthly premium.
• 36 percent of Americans would rather choose a low-deductible plan with a higher monthly bill, and 9 percent preferred neither option.
• Millennials and Americans with household incomes between $30,000 and $49,999 are the most likely to prefer a high-premium and low-deductible plan.
• Americans who make $50,000 or more and those ages 30 to 64 are more likely to prefer a low-premium and high-deductible plan.

"While a low health insurance premium can be very attractive, you don't want to make the mistake of focusing too much on your monthly payment," Whiteman said. "Especially for older Americans who may require more doctor visits than their younger counterparts, a low-premium [and] high-deductible plan could actually cost more in the long run."