VOTER VITALS VI – A Health Care Tracking Poll

MEMORANDUM 

TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Lauren Crawford Shaver, The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future
RE: VOTER VITALS VI – A Health Care Tracking Poll
DATE: March 16, 2021

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 latest installment of Voter Vitals shows that an overwhelming majority of voters are satisfied with their current health coverage and are unwilling to pay higher taxes or premiums in order to create a new, government health insurance system, such as the public option.  Voters are sending a clear message that, instead of starting over, policymakers should work together to lower costs and improve what’s working where private coverage, Medicare, and Medicaid work together to expand access to coverage and care,” said Phillip Morris, Partner of Locust Street Group.

Key findings of the survey include:

• 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 percentof 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). 

Methodology:

• Numbered 2,000 U.S. voters nationwide.
• Balanced to U.S. demographics by gender, age, race, income, political ideology and health coverage.
• Fielded online: February 16-22, 2021. 
• Margin of error: plus or minus two percent.

The sixth edition of Voter Vitals tracks closely with other national polling, including a recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), which reveals that the majority of Americans have a favorable view of current health care law and want the Biden Administration and Congress to build on our current system, where private coverage, Medicare, and Medicaid work together to expand access to health coverage and care.

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

• To read Locust Street’s complete survey analysis, CLICK HERE.
   
• The fifth edition of Voter Vitals was conducted in November and can be viewed HERE.
   
• The fourth edition of Voter Vitals was conducted in September and can be viewed HERE. 

• The third edition of Voter Vitals was conducted in March and can be viewed HERE.

• The second edition of Voter Vitals was conducted in November and can be viewed HERE.

• The first edition of Voter Vitals was conducted last August and can be viewed HERE.

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