When and How New Policy Creates New Politics: Examining the Feedback Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Public Opinion

Jacobs, Lawrence R.; Mettler, Suzanne

doi:10.1017/s1537592717004182

Cited by 99 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In the specific area of health care, access to health care is a highly contentious and partisan issue in the United States, as demonstrated by the politics of the Affordable Care Act (Gitterman and Scott ; Haeder and Weimer ; Jacobs and Metler ). In Denmark, universal access to health care has been guaranteed by law since 1973, when Denmark abolished state‐subsidized insurance systems and established a single‐payer system using government funds.…”

Section: The Original Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptual Bias and Public Programs: The Case of the United States and Hospital Care

Meier

Johnson²,

2019

Public Administration Review

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This article examines whether the public holds biased perceptions of public organizations (in this case, hospitals) in the United States and whether organizations get credit for positive results from program evaluations. Using an experimental design that replicates Hvidman and Andersen's 2016 Danish study, the study finds no negative public sector biases in the United States, but organizations are not given any credit for positive program evaluations. These results hold in two experimental replications. The implications of the findings for the measurement of public perceptions of government programs and for effective democratic governance are discussed. Evidence for Practice• Performance appraisal results generated by an agency do not appear to affect public evaluations of that agency. • U.S. public hospitals are not perceived more negatively than private hospitals in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, red tape, or benevolence. • Experiments on citizen evaluation need to be replicated in specific agency and national contexts.• Practitioners need to be especially careful about arguments related to efficiency and whether reliable measures of efficiency are possible.

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Section: The Original Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptual Bias and Public Programs: The Case of the United States and Hospital Care

Meier

Johnson²,

2019

Public Administration Review

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“…Recent scholarship provides evidence of a relationship between program design and public opinion (see Jacobs and Mettler ). For example, in a survey experiment, subjects responded differently to policies depending on whether the same benefits were distributed indirectly through tax expenditures or more directly through a cash benefit (Haselswerdt and Bartels ).…”

Section: Policy Feedback and Administrative Burdenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Administrative Burden Influence Public Support for Government Programs? Evidence from a Survey Experiment

Keiser

Miller

2019

Public Administration Review

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Research indicates that administrative burden influences the behaviors and views of clients and potential clients of government programs. However, administrative burden may also shape mass attitudes toward government programs. Taking a behavioral public administration approach, the authors consider whether and how exposure to information about administrative burden embedded within eligibility-based programs influences citizen favorability toward those programs. It is hypothesized that if information about the existing screening mechanisms is highlighted and made salient, this will lead to greater approval of eligibility-based programs. This expectation is evaluated using a survey experiment that explores administrative burden in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The evidence shows that being exposed to information about administrative burden increases favorability toward TANF and its recipients, though these effects are conditional on party identification. The results provide insight into a potential consequence of administrative burden, showing the way in which information regarding burden can shape citizens' support for eligibility-based programs. Evidence for Practice• Public managers in social welfare programs face challenges in gaining public support because of the stigma associated with these programs. • The evidence suggests that giving the public information about program screening improves views toward welfare programs. • Increasing awareness about program screening processes may be beneficial. However, public officials should consider potential trade-offs, such as discouraging applications. Susan M. Miller is associate professor of political science at the University of South Carolina. Broadly, her research explores the consequences of institutional and program design for policy implementation and outcomes.

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“…Put differently, “positive feedbacks are shaped not only by the internal attributes of policies, such as the magnitude and timing of their resource flows, but also by the interaction between such policy‐specific characteristics, the strategic goals of officeholders and groups, and the forces arising from an uncertain and contentious political environment” (Patashnik & Zelizer, , p. 1072). Moreover, they are also “contingent on the interplay between policy design, political conditions, and individual motivations” (Jacobs & Mettler, , p. 350).…”

Section: Substantive and Theoretical Issues Coveredmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much of political scientists' attention to feedback effects has focused on the interaction between policies and political behavior and public opinion (Jacobs & Mettler, ). Haselswerdt (), e.g., assessing the effect of the Medicaid expansion on district‐level elections, finds increases in voter turnout among new beneficiaries.…”

Section: Substantive and Theoretical Issues Coveredmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Science and U.S. Health Policy in the Era of the Affordable Care Act

Haeder¹

2020

Policy Studies Journal

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Few laws have a profound and lasting impact on an entire political system. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), despite its incremental nature and bipartisan heritage, has been one of those remarkable landmarks. Even a decade after its passage, the political struggle is far from over, as the ACA is still facing near constant threats from the incumbent president, Congress, the courts, statehouses, attorneys general, and governors across the nation. How have political scientists responded to the continued struggle? This article provides an overview of the effects of health reform and the ACA on political science research since 2008. While political scientists have written much about the subject, coverage has been distinctly uneven within the discipline. Indeed, it has almost been entirely confined to scholars of public and health policy. Nonetheless, there have been important contributions across disciplinary fields. This article provides an overview of contributions embedded within the study of federalism, policy feedback effects, and political framing. It concludes by emphasizing the need for more engaged scholarship on health policy issues from across the entire discipline, and by highlighting other areas of study that could benefit from broader attention by political scientists.

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When and How New Policy Creates New Politics: Examining the Feedback Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Public Opinion

Cited by 99 publications

References 44 publications

Perceptual Bias and Public Programs: The Case of the United States and Hospital Care

Perceptual Bias and Public Programs: The Case of the United States and Hospital Care

Does Administrative Burden Influence Public Support for Government Programs? Evidence from a Survey Experiment

Political Science and U.S. Health Policy in the Era of the Affordable Care Act

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