Michigan Democratic voters want to see change in the American health care system, poll finds, July 14, 2026, WDIV/Detroit News
“Would you support or oppose changing the American health care system to a single payer system in which everyone was covered by a Medicare style system of health care?”
82.8% supported it, 64.2% strongly; 9.6% opposed.
If employer/union insurance disappeared and those people would move into the federal system, support was 66.5%, versus 21.5% opposed.
Michigan U.S. Senate General Election Poll, June 17, 2026, Zenith Research, by Adam Carlson
Of Michigan likely general-election voters, 51% said they’d be more likely to support a Senate candidate favoring Medicare for All, versus 33% preferring a candidate favoring maintenance of private insurance.
Hospitals in the Trump 2.0 hot seat, Axios, August 7, 2026, by Caitlin Owens
Citing the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, HCA CEO Sam Hazen told investors last month that “many people became uninsured and still needed emergency care from hospitals,” and the “impact was greater than our estimates.”
Admissions for patients who formerly had exchange coverage declined by 15%, he added. “We expected some of these patients to shift to other forms of coverage, but this did not happen. Instead, these patients migrated almost one for one to uninsured.”
Tenet is seeing much the same thing, with people dropping off ACA exchanges straight into the ranks of the uninsured …
Most of the biggest changes start taking effect next year. … The American Hospital Association said it “remains deeply concerned about significant Medicaid cuts and other regulatory proposals that would make it harder for patients to access care.”
Comment:
By Jim Kahn, M.D., M.P.H.
I found an encouraging alignment of these two apparently unrelated news stories:
First, the polling: As shown above, there is strong majority support for a government single payer among Michigan voters, both Democratic and overall, and it persists after hearing counterarguments. This likely contributed to the recent narrow US Senate Dem primary win by Abdul El-Sayed. National polling echoes this finding – just two days ago, “60% of independents support government-provided healthcare coverage for all Americans” and in November 2025 support among all voters was 58-65%, depending on framing and wording. With El-Sayed and other progressive candidates on the ballot in November, single payer awareness will grow.
Second, the financial pain: Incremental insurance reforms from Obama and Biden are being dismantled by the Trump administration, hurting both patients and providers. As reported in Axios, hospitals feel the pinch of ACA trims via lower elective hospital use and uninsured emergency care. Medicaid cuts due in 2028 will accelerate this problem. HJM is not generally focused on the financial challenges of for-profit hospitals, but we wouldn’t mind having them as allies in the fight for excellent insurance for everyone!
Stay tuned. The Medicare for All / single payer forces are aligning.
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