Study Findings on Politics Reported by Researchers at Washington University (Symbolic politics and self-interest in post-Affordable Care Act health Insurance coverage)

Health Policy and Law Daily

2020 SEP 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Investigators publish new report on politics. According to news reporting from Washington University by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Social scientists have long shown that self-interest rarely has a large effect on citizens’ sociopolitical attitudes.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Washington University: “Instead, Americans’ opinions about public policy are driven more by symbolic predispositions. Yet those opinions about policy may just be cheap talk. When Americans are faced with costly behaviors that pit their interests against their values, perhaps self-interest will play a larger role. Post-Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance coverage provides an important test for self-interest and symbolic politics. Faced with costly decisions to pay fines or purchase insurance, did Americans put symbolic politics over material self-interests? Using a monthly tracking poll, we first show that symbolic attitudes overwhelm self-interest in shaping public opinion about health policy.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Marshaling data from over one million respondents from Gallup’s Tracking Poll, however, we show that both self-interest and symbolic predispositions are associated with decisions to purchase health insurance under the ACA.”

For more information on this research see: Symbolic politics and self-interest in post-Affordable Care Act health Insurance coverage. Research & Politics, 2020,7. (Research & Politics - http://rap.sagepub.com). The publisher for Research & Politics is SAGE Publishing.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168020955108.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Tyler T. Reny, Washington University, USA. Additional authors for this research include David O. Sears.