What They Are Saying: Kaiser Poll Reveals “Americans Want Lawmakers To Focus On Other Health Care Issues”

A  poll released this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Americans don’t support Medicare for All proposals once they know what’s in them, and they want Congress to focus on protecting and improving upon what works in America’s health care system: 

CNN: “Despite all the hype surrounding Medicare-for-all, Americans want lawmakers to focus on other health care issues…. Just over 1 in 10 respondents want lawmakers to implement Medicare-for-all…”

• KAISER: “Despite the recent attention on proposals to expand Medicare or Medicaid, 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.’” 

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: “And when the public learns what ‘Medicare for all’ actually means, support vanishes.”

• KAISER: “…[N]et favorability drops as low as -44 percentage points when people hear the argument that this 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).”

• BLOOMBERG: “The Kaiser survey found that public opinion turns more negative on the idea if respondents are told such a system could cause delays for people seeking care, threaten the current Medicare program, require higher taxes, or eliminate private insurance companies.” 

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: “Indeed, the poll found that many people are still unaware of some of the basic implications of a national health plan.”  

• SLATE: “[M]any survey takers seemed to be confused about what Medicare for all, as it’s been formally proposed, would actually do.  Among those under the age of 65 who had employer-sponsored coverage, 55 percent said they thought they would be able to keep their current health plan if Medicare for all were put in place.  That is not how Sanders’ single-payer bill would work.  The legislation that Sanders has written, and that many of his colleagues and potential Democratic primary opponents endorsed, would expressly ban private insurance plans that compete with the government.  That turns out to be a fairly unpopular idea.  According to Kaiser, support for Medicare for all drops to 37 percent if survey takers are told that the bill would eliminate private insurance companies, with 58 percent opposed.” 

Click here to read more about the Kaiser Family Foundation’s poll findings on their website.