VOTER VITALS – New National Health Care Tracking Poll

MEMORANDUM

TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Lauren Crawford Shaver, The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future
RE: VOTER VITALS – New National Health Care Tracking Poll
DATE: August 15, 2019

Voter Vitals – a new poll conducted nationwide and in 2020 battleground states by Locust Street Group for the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future – finds that “[h]ealth care will be the defining issue of the 2020 presidential election. However, a clear majority of voters nationwide are primed to reject new government-run systems that will cost voters more to expand coverage like Medicare for All, the public option, and Medicare buy-in.  Most voters want candidates to lower costs, build on what’s working and fix what’s broken – not start over.”

“A majority of Democratic, swing, and Republican voters are clear that they are not willing to pay any more in taxes for universal coverage. They’re looking for health care policies that lower rising health care costs more than anything else,” said Phillip Morris, Partner of Locust Street Group.

Key findings of the survey, which is the first edition of Voter Vitals, a new quarterly national tracking poll commissioned by the Partnership, include:

• 60% of voters believe lowering COSTS for everyone is more important than providing universal coverage.
• 64% of voters would be UNWILLING to pay ANY more in taxes for universal coverage.
• More voters support FIXING what we have today (57%) than Medicare buy-in (48%), public option (44%), and Medicare for All (40%).
• 68% of voters would rather BUILD ON our current health care system than replace it with something new.
• 63% of voters believe PRIVATE COVERAGE should continue to exist and have a role in our health care system.
• 70% of voters age 18-64 with private coverage would rather KEEP their plan than buy coverage through a public option.

Methodology:

• N=1,000 voters nationwide plus n=500-voter oversamples in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio.
• Balanced to U.S. demographics by gender, age, race, income, political ideology and health coverage.
• Fielded online from July 19-25, 2019.
• National MOE: +/- 3%; State OS MOE: +/- 4 percent.

To see Locust Street’s executive summary of the survey findings, CLICK HERE.

To read Locust Street’s complete survey analysis, CLICK HERE.

To learn more about the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, CLICK HERE.