KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. – March 11, 2014 – Nexxt, a recruitment media company focused on helping people grow and succeed professionally, today announced results from a comprehensive national survey that found the majority of job seekers still don’t understand the Affordable Care Act. Despite months of public debate and the deadline to sign up looming, more than half (52%) of the 4,067 respondents to the February survey responded they were still confused about the legislation, and in some cases didn’t even know what it was. (More than 23% of those surveyed still believed the Affordable Care Act and “Obamacare” were different things.)

The success of the Affordable Care Act largely depends on younger Americans signing up; however in the survey, over half of Millennials in need of healthcare (roughly ages 18-31) responded that they were unaware of the impending March 31 deadline. March 31 is the last day to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act’s "individual mandate," meaning most Americans who haven’t signed up by that point will be required to pay a penalty when they file their 2014 tax returns in 2015.

On a more positive note, those who had signed up for healthcare coverage pointed out that using the Healthcare.gov website was easier than initially reported, with 57% of survey respondents claiming they only spent two hours or less on the website. However, 15% still responded that they spent more than 10 hours during the sign-up process.

“We’ve heard back from job seekers and their diagnosis on the Affordable Care Act is that they are more focused on finding a paycheck than spending time signing up,” said Joe Weinlick, Chief Marketing Officer for Nexxt. “There is a burgeoning confidence among job seekers, and some may feel their healthcare concerns will be taken care of if they can land a job. While there are certainly people signing up for coverage, many seem to be waiting until the last minute and some are oblivious of the approaching deadline.”

Other key findings from the survey included:

• Only 13% of unemployed job seekers surveyed reported that they have already signed up for healthcare coverage through the Affordable Care Act, although 26% said that they plan to.
• 61% of unemployed job seekers have not yet signed up for health insurance coverage, and don't plan to. While some reported that they receive insurance benefits from a family member, the majority of those who don’t plan to sign up (56%) cited that they did not feel the legislation is necessary.
• Of those who plan to sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act, 44% were unaware of the March 31 deadline.
• Those who had already signed up for healthcare coverage (or who planned to) were most likely to find out about the process from Healthcare.gov (47%). Those who don't plan to sign up were most likely to take their instruction from the news media (52%).
• 73% of respondents who have signed up for healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act believe they will pay about the same or less per month than they had been.

According to the Affordable Care Act, those who fail to sign up for healthcare coverage by March 31 will have to wait until the next enrollment period, which doesn't begin until Nov. 15, 2014 and is scheduled to run through January 15, 2015. Those who haven’t signed up are encouraged to visit www.healthcare.gov for more information.

In addition to providing services like job search, career advice and free resume critiques, Nexxt frequently fields surveys to its millions of members to get reaction about issues impacting those looking for employment. The most recent healthcare survey was conducted during February 2014. To learn more about Nexxt and discover tools to help manage your career, please visit www.nexxt.com.

About Nexxt
Nexxt is a leading HR technology company for reaching candidates at scale. The Nexxt software allows employers to source the right people quickly and confidently, putting employers, agencies, and staffing companies on the path to making the best hires. Through a multi-channeled approach, Nexxt’s patented technology makes sure the right job opportunities are seen by the right audiences, including Nexxt’s diverse pool of more than 100 million members. To learn more and see what’s Nexxt, please visit www.nexxt.com.