Health Care Is Voters’ Top Priority, But Government-Run Proposals Miss the Mark

WASHINGTON –  As Democratic presidential candidates continue to tout their plans for new government-run insurance systems, 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 “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.”

Phillip Morris, a partner at Locust Street Group, explains the findings of the new poll below.

Health Care Is Voters’ Top Priority, But Government-Run Proposals Miss the Mark
By Phillip Morris

Winning the White House in 2020 will be largely determined by which candidate most effectively communicates a path forward on Americans’ number one policy priority: health care. That’s a key finding from Voter Vitals, a new quarterly tracking poll of voters nationwide and across the top 2020 battleground states that my firm, Locust Street Group, conducted on behalf of the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future.

Voters are demanding action to address the challenges facing our health care system, but as candidates work to win their support, many are making a critical mistake by pushing for new government health insurance systems like Medicare for All, the public option, and Medicare buy-in. Our research is clear. A significant majority of voters – including Democratic, swing, and Republican voters – are primed to reject these proposals.

Why? Because contrary to the popular narrative, our polling shows a majority of Americans (60 percent) prefer solutions that lower health care costs for everyone over providing universal coverage. Recent studies shows that new government health insurance systems would require Americans to pay more in taxes or private plan premiums, and we found that 64 percent of voters – and even a majority of Democratic voters – are unwilling to pay any more in taxes for universal coverage.

Further, while some presidential hopefuls push a Medicare for All system that would eliminate private coverage, a majority of voters (63 percent) believe private coverage should have a role in our health care system. Even more, 58 percent of voters trust the free market more than government to effectively manage our health care system. Any viable plan must include the free market and public programs working together to lower costs.

Voter skepticism is not limited to Medicare for All. The public option is more unpopular than many candidates believe. When offered public option coverage at no additional cost, 70 percent of voters ages 18 to 64 with private coverage reported they would rather keep their current plan than purchase coverage through a public option.

So what do Americans want? A supermajority (68 percent) would rather build on and improve our current health care system than replace it with something new – including 69 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of swing voters.

With the first primaries and caucuses quickly approaching, candidates would be wise to listen to voters and focus on solutions that lower costs, build on what’s working, and fix what’s broken to expand access to affordable, high-quality coverage for every American.

Phillip Morris is a partner at Locust Street Group.