Well, I'm no expert on this, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but here's my shot on answering this:
When Obama care fails, what will people do for medical coverage in the US?
Most will likely still be covered under medicare/medicaid/employer coverage. Though there will be a significant population (maybe 20 Million??) who will be screwed. Obamacare really was supposedly created to take care of the people that were outside the main ways people were covered. There are those that believe, it's true intent was to force employers to drop employees from coverage so that a nationalized healthcare system (and thus more governmental power and control) would come into existence. It will be a big stink when it fails, it won't be a disaster, but it will severely negatively affect a minority of people and the progressive press will make it into a big deal.
Can Americans still get private insurance policies or do they have to go through Obama care? What are the financial penalties for not signing up for Obama care?
As far as I understand it, obamacare is more like a standard a private plan has to attain, so I don't think it's legal to sell a health insurance plan that doesn't meet obamacare standards. One of the problems with the obamacare standards is they are over reaching. Mandatory pediatric dental care, free birth control. So a single guy or old lady has to buy the same plan as a married family with three kids. Right now, when you file taxes, you have to certify that you have compliant health care coverage or you face a penalty, though it may be that you just don't get a refund. It is complicated. The penalties I believe rise each year to coerce people to sign up. I personally don't know anyone going through independent obamacare policies, but I know a few that are legally mandated to buy insurance who aren't because they feel paying the penalty is more affordable than paying the premiums. I believe the penalties are a couple thousand dollars - could be wrong.
Does the average American still support this program?
What is an average American? Part of obamacare expanded (in those states that participated) benefits to medicaid - the insurance program for poor people that are state funded. Also, for less rich, but not quite poor people, obamacare subsidized purchasing insurance, so even though premiums keep going up, they aren't seeing the full cost. There are others that just want free female birth control. Anyway, those that are poor and less well off are getting a far better deal than they had before, so I expect they like it. Those that are middle class, but not poor aren't too excited about it. How would you feel about getting 30% increase in premiums in a year? But, I suppose each person's needs and experiences are unique. There are plenty of Americans like me that think it's a conflict with our constitution to require someone to buy health insurance.
Now all that being said, The medical system in the US prior to obamacare was over priced and inaccessible to many. One of my complaints against the Republicans is that they kept defending the status quo, when the status quo was 50% more expensive than it ought to have been. Maybe it was responsive but at an unacceptably high cost. The US insurance system, really isn't insurance as much a corrupt way of paying for medical care that requires people to go through bureaucracies. If I go to the Doctor and say I don't have insurance and I offer to pay immediately with cash, it is said, I can get a rate far below what they would charge me with insurance. It just seems wrong that one should be charged differently if the doctors office can get more money out of an insurance company. I can't tell you how many times I've been told in doctors offices "well insurance will pay for it". The whole system is divorced from rational decision making.
This situation is difficult for an outsider to understand.
Yea it's hard for someone on the inside to understand too.
Jack