Poll: Democrats Increasingly Favor Medicare for All over Obamacare

A majority of Democrats have said they would be more likely to back a candidate if they prioritized Medicare for All over Obamacare, according to a poll released Wednesday.

A Morning Consult/Politico survey released Wednesday found a surge in net support for Democrats that would back a candidate if he or she prioritized Medicare for All.

The survey found a net 52 percent of Democrats voters were more likely to back a candidate if the candidate were to back Medicare for All, which serves as 17 percent gain since 35 percent net support in January.

The pollsters calculated net support by subtracting the share of Democrat voters who likely to back a candidate that endorsed Medicare for All subtracted from those voters that were less likely a candidate if he or she did not back the single-payer healthcare proposal.

Eagan Kemp, a healthcare expert as the progressive Public Citizen, noted that become a centerpiece of the national dialogue, which includes three House hearings as well as an extensive discussion during the first two 2020 Democrat presidential primary debates.

Although many Democrat front-runners such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) back Medicare for All, former Vice President Joe Biden spurned Medicare for All and has instead proposed improving the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by including a public option.

The survey also found that net support for Medicare for All compared to Obamacare drops to 13 points. However, Democrats maintain a 14-point lead over Republicans when asked which party they trust more on health care. The Democrats have led this lead since Republicans failed multiple times to repeal Obamacare in 2017.

The survey arises as a Monmouth University poll found that only 22 percent of Democrats prefer Medicare for All over a Medicare opt-in proposal and allowing Americans to keep their private health insurance.

Kemp said that there will remain significant grassroots support for a single-payer healthcare proposal such as Medicare for All.

“If it is Biden, or somebody who is not as strong on Medicare for All,” Kemp said, “there’s going to continue to be strong pressure to bring Biden in line with the Democratic base, and continue pushing legislators and others around the country to support Medicare for All.”