Patient Opinion on the Affordable Care Act in an Otolaryngology Practice: the Ideological Divide

OBJECTIVE: To assess patient opinion on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in an Otolaryngology practice and the factors that influence those opinions. STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. METHODS: An anonymous survey assessing patient opinion on the PPACA, demographic information, political affiliation, medical diagnosis, and insurance status was distributed to patients in three separate Otolaryngology clinics (General, cancer, and Low-income/Indigent) from April to June 2014. A total of 300 surveys were distributed and 207 were used for final analysis. The primary study outcome measures were patient opinion of the PPACA and statistically significant variables affecting that opinion. The association of Support for the PPACA and variables were tested using the Chi-square test. RESULTS: The only variables that showed a significant association with support for the PPACA were Political Party (p<0.0001) and Ethnicity (p=0.0050). Specifically, a higher proportion of Democrats support the PPACA than Republicans and a higher proportion of African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos support the PPACA than Whites and Native Americans. CONCLUSION: Our survey of current Otolaryngology patients mirrors national findings of the division between Republicans and Democrats in their attitudes towards the Affordable Care Act. Political party appears to be the most significant factor in shaping patient opinion on this controversial subject regardless of insurance status or cancer diagnosis and a higher proportion of African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos support the PPACA than Whites and Native Americans. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.