Poll: 64 Percent of Battleground State Voters Favor Lowering Costs over Universal Health Care

Nearly two-thirds of swing-state voters favor lowering healthcare costs over providing universal health care, according to a poll released Thursday.

A survey released Thursday conducted by Locust Street Group commissioned by the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future found that 64 percent of American battleground state voters prefer lowering healthcare costs over ensuring universal health care. In contrast, only 36 percent of swing-state voters back universal coverage over reducing healthcare costs.

The battleground states include Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio, all crucial states for presidential elections and congressional races.

Sixty percent of American voters, as well as 59 percent of swing-voters, want to lower healthcare costs, and 76 percent of Republican voters prefer lowering healthcare costs over universal coverage. Only Democrats prefer universal coverage; 52 percent of Democrat voters prefer universal coverage, while 48 percent want to reduce healthcare costs.

The poll also found that healthcare serves as the top issue facing the 2020 elections, as 46 percent of Americans voters said health care was the most critical issue, compared to 40 percent of voters who said the economy was the most important, while 40 percent preferred immigration as the most important issue (combining respondents’ top three issues).

The Partnership’s release also showed that Americans prefer fixing the current healthcare system America has instead of adopting a single-payer healthcare system or enacting a government-run public insurance option.

The healthcare group said in a release that “a clear majority of voters nationwide are primed to reject new government-run systems that will cost voters more to expand coverage like Medicare for All, the public option, and Medicare buy-in.  Most voters want candidates to lower costs, build on what’s working and fix what’s broken – not start over.”

Sixty-two percent of battleground state voters said that the country should focus on fixing America’s current healthcare system, 57 percent of Americans agreed with that argument, 62 percent of Democrats agreed we should keep the current system, 49 percent of swing voters agreed with keeping the current system, and 58 percent of Republican voters agreed that we should keep America’s healthcare system over Democrat proposals such as former Vice President Joe Biden’s public option plan and Medicare for All.

However, a majority of Democrats also backed proposals such as Medicare for All and the public option, while 53 percent of Republican voters still want to repeal Obamacare.

As the survey revealed that Americans want their politicians to lower healthcare costs, a new class of rising Republican lawmakers, such as Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Mike Braun (R-IN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), have proposed legislation that would lower healthcare costs for the average American.

For instance, Scott and  Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced in the America First Drug Pricing Plan, which would increase consumer choice, price transparency, and more price fairness when it comes to the cost of prescription drugs. The plan would ban drug companies from charging consumers more for prescription drugs than other industrialized nations such as Great Britain, Canada, or Germany.

“What Republicans are doing if you look at our proposals, as in all the conversation I’m in with people, is driving down the costs. If you drive down the cost, more people will be able to afford health care, we want them to actually get health care,” Scott said told Breitbart News in an interview in July.

The Locust Street Group poll surveyed 1,000 voters across the nation, plus an additional 500 additional voters across the battleground states. Locust Street Group surveyed voters between July 19-25 and the national margin of error is three percent, while the state margin of error is four percent.