By Eric Anderson and Laura Giocomo

How much do Americans know about federal health care reform? Not much.

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) last March, the topic has dominated newspapers, online forums, and television and radio news programs. It would seem, given the vast amount of media coverage, that Americans could easily separate fact from fiction when it comes to the relatively new law.

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently set out to uncover what Americans know about ACA. The organization polled more than 1,200 adults and asked simple questions about whether or not certain provisions are included in federal health care reform. Most Americans got between 40 and 60 percent of questions correct, indicating that the public is still deeply confused by federal health care reform and isn’t clear about precisely what is included in the law.  (Keep in mind that this was a true/false quiz, so random guesses should result in a roughly 50 percent accuracy rate.)

The Kaiser Family Foundation’s survey revealed that 60 percent of Americans think that federal health care reform creates a government run health care plan (which it doesn’t) and nearly half of Americans think that benefits previously provided to Medicare recipients will be cut (which also isn’t true). Nearly two-thirds of Americans also believe that all businesses, regardless of size, are required to provide insurance for employees (actually, businesses with fewer than 20 employees are exempt) and more than 40 percent believe that the new law provides financial assistance from the government for undocumented immigrants to purchase insurance (which, again, isn’t true).

So, why aren’t Americans better informed about the details of federal health care reform?

The Kaiser Family Foundation examined which sources supply Americans with information about federal health care reform and found that the vast majority of people get information about the new law from the news media and through conversations with friends and families.

Given the amount of incorrect information circulating, does that mean the media isn’t doing its job? Media often acts as a filter between content experts and the public. Many times, the simplification of issues provided by media is welcomed by consumers who can easily digest mainstream news articles and establish a basic understanding of a number of political topics.

However, in the case of federal health care reform it seems that the media has oversimplified the details of the complex federal health care reform law, has summarized it to a point that key details are missing, and has failed to break down misconceptions that stem from the political noise surrounding the new law. As a result, inaccuracies about what is contained in the law have been perpetuated.

Have these misconceptions influenced public opinion of the new law?

Americans remain divided in their opinions of both the law itself and the Republican effort to defund the law. A CBS News poll in February highlighted just how split American opinions are when it comes to federal health care reform: 51 percent still disapprove of the original legislation, yet 55 percent disapprove of the Republican plan to cut off funding to the new law.

Further, it turns out that, while many people dislike the law, a majority of people support components of the law like the section that prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions.  As the Kaiser Family Foundation quiz demonstrates, views of the law are not based on a complete understanding of its provisions.

There is an opportunity for content experts like health foundations, companies, and associations, policymakers and health care communications professionals to step up and clearly outline the facts of federal health care reform, communicating directly with the public instead of through the filter of the media.

Love health care reform or hate it, we all should be able to agree that the public deserves to know the facts.

Eric Anderson is a principal and Laura Giocomo is an associate at SE2, a Colorado-based mass communications firm focused on public issues, policy and social marketing.  They can be reached at EA@publicpersuasion.com and Laura@publicpersuasion.com.