Poll: Only 31 Percent of Americans Call Medicare for All a 'Top Priority'

Less than one-third of Americans said implementing a Medicare for All healthcare plan amounts to a “top priority,” according to a poll released Wednesday.

Only 31 percent of Americans said that implementing a Medicare for All program amounts to a “top priority,” according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Wednesday.

Nearly a majority, or 47 percent of Democrats, support Medicare for All as a top priority, compared to only 26 percent of Independents and 14 percent of Republicans.

This poll arises as the House Rules Committee will hold a hearing next week on the Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-WA) Medicare for All legislation.

Fifty-one percent of Republicans have a “very negative” view of Medicare for All, which has grown from 2017 where 42 percent of the GOP had a negative image of the single-payer proposal.

Democrats’ enthusiasm for Medicare has experienced nearly a double-digit gain since 2017.

In 2017, 49 percent of Democrats had a “very positive” view of Medicare for All, compared to 58 percent in 2019 who had a highly favorable view of the program.

A Morning Consult poll released this week found that 31 percent of Republicans support Medicare for All, while 47 percent of Americans support the progressive healthcare proposal.

In contrast to Americans’ limited enthusiasm for Medicare for All, a majority of Americans said that they would prefer to focus on bipartisan healthcare issues such as lowering prescription drug costs, protecting pre-existing conditions, and curbing surprise billing.

Sixty-eight percent of Americans said that lowering prescription drug costs amounts to a “top priority, 64 percent of Americans want to keep protections for pre-existing conditions, and 50 percent of Americans want to protect people from surprise high out-of-network bills.

As President Donald Trump promised that the Republican party will become the party of health care, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) told Breitbart News he has proposed a two-pronged approach to improving Americans health care: small bipartisan reforms such as lowering drug prices and a dynamic health care proposal that would give states and local citizens more control over their health care.

Cassidy said, “But then on a bigger level, there’s going to be a philosophical debate over the next election season over whether we should double down on government control, for example, Medicare for All, or whether we want to emphasize these market-based solutions.”