In all likelihood, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is here to stay. The law has extended coverage to millions of Americans and introduced a number of popular changes to U.S. health care that future politicians will be hard-pressed to undo.

And yet, a recent study suggests that the same nation that is unlikely to support the law's full repeal is in some ways voicing more conservative attitudes about health care.

In particular, the number of Americans who believe the federal government spends too little on health care has significantly decreased since the PPACA's passage. Among Republicans, the percentage went down by 24 percent; among independents it went down by 16 percent; and among Democrats it decreased by 12 percent.