Voter Vitals VI: National Tracking Poll
The sixth edition of Voter Vitals – a nationwide tracking poll conducted by Locust Street Group for the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future – shows that lowering costs is voters’ top health care priority. The vast majority of voters prefer for lawmakers to build on the current health care system rather than starting over with a new government-controlled health insurance system like the public option. The survey also finds most voters are unwilling to pay any more in taxes to create the public option and are concerned about its impact on access to quality care.
THE FINDINGS:
- Lowering COSTS (67 percent) is the top health care priority for Democratic, Swing, and Republican voters.
- 77 percent of voters with health insurance coverage are SATISFIED with their coverage.
- More voters support FIXING what we have today (65 percent support) than the public option (46 percent support) and Medicare for All (42 percent support).
- 65 percent of voters would rather BUILD ON our current health care system than create the public option, and 57 percent trust the private sector more than the federal government to manage health care.
- 73 percent of voters are UNWILLING to pay any more for health care and 71 percent are UNWILLING to pay any more in taxes to create the public option.
- Most voters are CONCERNED about the impact of the public option on access to quality care (77 percent), payroll taxes (73 percent), and closure of at-risk hospitals (72 percent).
THE BOTTOM LINE:
It’s clear that voters on both sides of the aisle want lawmakers to build on and improve what’s working, where private coverage, Medicare and Medicaid work together to help Americans get healthy and stay healthy. As our leaders are deciding what’s next in health care, let’s build on what’s working, not start over with a new government-controlled health insurance system we can’t afford.