KAISER POLL: “Democrats Want Democratic Lawmakers To Focus On ACA Rather Than Medicare-For-All”
WASHINGTON—A new poll released this morning by the Kaiser Family Foundation reveals that, “when asked to choose Democrats would rather the new Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives focus their efforts on ‘improving and protecting the ACA’ rather than ’passing a national Medicare-for-all plan.’” More than half of Democratic respondents prefer the former, while fewer than four in ten prefer the latter.
The poll also finds that, among Americans broadly, “the net favorability of attitudes towards a national Medicare-for-all plan can swing significantly” as people are presented with additional information.
For instance, Kaiser notes that “net favorability drops as low as -44 percentage points when people hear the argument that [Medicare for All] would lead to delays in some people getting some medical tests and treatments. Net favorability is also negative if people hear it would threaten the current Medicare program (-28 percentage points), require most Americans to pay more in taxes (-23 percentage points), or eliminate private health insurance companies (-21 percentage points).”
Further indicating that initial support for Medicare for All proposals is soft and predicated on “confusion” about the program’s impact, Kaiser reports that “there is some confusion about whether people would be able to keep their current health insurance [under a Medicare for All program]. Most people under the age of 65 and who currently have employer-sponsored insurance say that if a national health plan was put into place, they would be able to keep their current coverage (55 percent) while about four in ten (37 percent) are aware they would not be able to keep their current coverage.” Specific Medicare for All proposals, including legislation previously filed in the U.S. House and Senate, explicitly eliminate private health insurance options.
Click here to read more about the Kaiser Family Foundation’s poll findings on their website.