A poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) shows that most Americans want the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to continue to be the law of the land—and that they are focused more on specific issues of health care, such as high drug costs, rather than wanting to see sweeping changes like creating a Medicare for All system.

The April tracking poll from KFF shows that Americans are very concerned about health care issues that could affect them directly. When asked what priorities Congress should have regarding health care policy:

68 percent of Americans saying lowering drug costs should be a top priority
64 percent list protections for people with pre-existing health conditions as a top priority
50 percent say protecting people from surprise medical bills should be a top priority

On the other hand, implementing a Medicare for All system is listed as a top priority for 31 percent of Americans; repealing and replacing the ACA is listed by 27 percent; and expanding financial help for those already on the ACA marketplace is listed as a top priority by 26 percent of respondents.

Medicare for All has support—depending on how it's defined

Even if it's not top-of-mind for Americans, the Medicare for All concept has had steady support in recent years. In the most recent polling, 56 percent of Americans said they favor a Medicare for all system. Support for the concept has remained steady, at between 59 percent and 55 percent in KFF polls since June 2017.

However, the way such a national, single-payer plan is labeled clearly makes a difference. Calling it “universal health coverage” results in 63 percent of respondents saying they have a positive reaction to the term. “Medicare for All” gets positive marks from 63 percent; “single-payer insurance” gets a 49 percent positive response; and “socialized medicine” gets a positive response from 46 percent of Americans.

Partisanship weighs heavily on the discussion

As with many legislative issues today, partisan lines have continued to harden: since 2017, Democratic support of Medicare for All has jumped from 49 percent to 58 percent, while Republican respondents have had the opposite reaction: 42 percent opposed Medicare for All in 2017, 51 percent oppose it now.

One area of agreement: protections for people with pre-existing health conditions. The poll found that 68 percent of Democrats say it's very important that the government continue to prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions; majorities of both independents (68 percent) and Republicans (54 percent) agreed.

Similarly, majorities do not want the Supreme Court to overturn protections for preexisting conditions: 80 percent of Democrats oppose that possible outcome of a current lawsuit, 67 percent of independents and 52 percent of Republicans also oppose such an outcome.

However, ask Americans whether the Supreme Court should overturn the ACA, and the partisan divide re-emerges: 83 percent of Democrats say no, 59 of independents join them in opposing overturning the ACA, while 73 percent of Republicans want the court to overturn Obamacare.

Overall, that comes to 54 percent of Americans opposing a Supreme Court repeal of the ACA; 39 percent would welcome it.

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Instant Insights /

Forget Medicare for All, Americans want help with health care expenses

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