NORC, University of Chicago, Poll conducted December 13-16, 2018
How much have people heard about Medicare-for-All?
46% – Not at all
40% – Some
13% – A lot
1% – Other
Who would be eligible?
51% – All Americans
23% – Age 50+
23% – No other insurance option
Would participation be mandatory or optional?
41% – Mandatory
55% – Optional
Who would be eligible to participate in Medicare-for-All?
23% – Only Americans without access to insurance
23% – Only Americans 50+
51% – All Americans
Expected impact of Medicare-for-All on various health care issues
Patient out-of-pocket costs
26% – Increase
49% – Reduce
Coverage for health care services
29% – Limit
44% – Expand
Number of people with health insurance coverage
8% – Decrease
69% – Increase
Amount U.S. spends on health care
47% – Increase
29% – Reduce
Quality of care
30% – Reduce
28% – Increase
Access to doctors and hospitals
24% – Reduce
42% – Increase
NORC press release:
http://www.norc.org…
Comment:
By Don McCanne, M.D.
We cannot assume that the obvious advantages of a single payer Medicare for All program will automatically sell itself. Why? In spite of considerable public discussion about Medicare for All, close to half say they haven’t heard of the concept, and many who have are confused on the specifics of the proposal.
The confusion may partly be due to the fact that several politicians have used “Medicare for All” as a label for their own proposals that are mostly merely expansions of the Affordable Care Act and are not single payer proposals. Also conservative opponents, in their attacks on single payer, frequently assign policy features that are not part of the model (e.g., the government takes away your choice of doctors and hospitals).
But that one number: 46% say they haven’t heard at all about Medicare for All. We’ve got to turn up the volume.
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