Poll: Americans Unsure What ‘Medicare for All’ Means for America

Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) President Drew Altman said on Monday a poll has revealed that Medicare for All supporters may not understand how the single-payer healthcare plan would work.

Altman cited polling form a recent KFF tracking poll of over 1,212 American adults, found that:

• Sixty-two percent of Americans believe that Americans would still have health insurance; Medicare for All would eliminate private health insurance.
• Forty-four percent of Americans believe that individuals would pay health insurance premiums; however, Medicare for All would eliminate health insurance premiums.
• Sixty-one percent believe that people would have to continue paying deductibles and copays even though the program would eliminate both.
• Forty-seven percent of Americans believe that they could keep their insurance even though Medicare for All would eliminate their employer-based private health insurance.
• Forty-eight percent believe that if they buy their own plan, they could keep their current health insurance plan ,even though Medicare for All would eliminate private health insurance.

Altman noted that opposition to Medicare for All would be 58 percent of Americans if they learned that the program would eliminate private health insurance, and 70 percent of U.S. adults would oppose Medicare for All if the program would lead to delays in care.

“But support rises to 67% if people hear that Medicare for All would eliminate premiums and deductibles, and to 71% if they learn that it would “make health care a right,” the KFF president added.

Altman contended that Americans’ opinion of Medicare for All is still “malleable,” meaning that their support for the program signals more about their priorities for the future of health care rather than the specifics of the program.

The recent KFF polling mirrors KFF polling from June 2019 that found that a majority of Americans would oppose Medicare for All if it were to:

• Eliminate private health insurance (58 percent)
• Require most Americans to pay more in taxes (60 percent)
• Harm Medicare (60 percent)
• Lead to delays in medical tests and treatments (70 percent)

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Breitbart News last June that Medicare for All will only worsen health care for Americans.

“Sen. Sanders is not in touch with the majority of America on many issues, but he certainly doesn’t speak for hardworking Americans when it comes to taxes, jobs, or the economy,” McCarthy said. “In fact, most people oppose Sanders’ idea of a government-controlled health care system once they realize what’s behind the Democrat Socialists’ gilded plan: higher taxes, longer wait times, and worse care.”