Poll: Only 22 Percent of Democrats Prefer Medicare for All

Only 22 percent of Democrat voters want to eliminate private health insurance in favor of a Medicare for All system, according to a poll released Monday.

A Monmouth University poll released Monday found that many Democrat voters remain uneasy about eliminating America’s private health insurance system in favor of the single-payer Medicare for All system.

The poll also found that Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and former Vice President Joe Biden have hit a statistical three-way tie.

Twenty-two percent of Democrats said that they would want to eliminate private insurance for Medicare for All when asked what healthcare policy they prefer.

Fifty-three percent of Democrats prefer a system to either allow Americans to opt into Medicare or keep their private coverage, seven percent want to keep private insurance for those under age 65 but “regulate the costs,” and 11 percent want to keep the private insurance system under Obamacare as is.

Monmouth then polled Democrats who selected the option for either allowing Americans to opt into Medicare whether they would want to move to a private health insurance system.

Of those Democrats that they would prefer a system where Americans could opt into Medicare, 18 percent said they would want to move to Medicare for All-style system eventually, 33 percent said there should always be a private health insurance option, two percent said that they did not know, and 21 percent said that there should be no minor changes after they allow for a Medicare opt-in option.

The Monmouth poll arises as many vulnerable Senate Democrats such as Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Doug Jones (D-AL), and Gary Peters (D-MI) have shied away from Medicare for All.

A recent poll found that 64 percent of battleground state voters prefer lowering healthcare costs over universal healthcare access.

Kelly Coogan-Gehr, a director for advocacy at National Nurses United, a top labor union fighting for Medicare for All, said that Democrats up for reelection will face significant pressure on their position on Medicare for All.

“Up and down the ticket you will see them forced to respond to Medicare for All,” says Coogan-Gehr. “People will hold their feet to the fire like never before.”

The Monmouth poll surveyed 298 Democrats or Americans who lean towards the Democrat party through either landline phone or cell phone between August 16 and 20 and has a margin of error of 5.7 percent.