Pundits suggest that one of the biggest challenges to enacting Medicare for All is that the public will object to paying additional public taxes for their health care. But, is that really a challenge? A new Harvard/POLITICO poll shows that more than 80 percent of Democrats are willing to pay the Medicare for all tax.
With Medicare for All, people would stop paying a high private tax–premiums, deductibles and coinsurance for their health care. Indeed, eight in ten Americans would pay less for their health care. Only the wealthiest Americans would pay more.
The poll also shows that:
- More than four in ten Democrats support repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. Their goal is to ensure coverage for everyone. The ACA, which relies on the states to administer health exchanges, and commercial insurers to provide coverage, will never deliver the good affordable care we all need. Today, millions of Americans are still uninsured and millions with coverage struggle to afford needed care.
- A solid majority of Republicans (60 percent) now support letting people under 65 buy into Medicare. The poll did not ask whether they supported Medicare for All to everyone. Curiously, fewer Republicans–51 percent–support a public health insurance option than a Medicare buy-in. They are one and the same thing, two different ways of describing a Medicare option.
- Republicans and Democrats alike want Congress to lower prescription drug prices. It remains a top priority for Americans. More than nine in ten (92 percent) say it is very important (94 percent of Democrats and 89 percent of Republicans).
- Republicans and Democrats alike want to ensure coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
- And, people in both parties do not want to see cuts to Medicare (more than nine in ten Democrats (93 percent) and nearly eight in ten Republicans.) Republicans in Congress who are eyeing Medicare cuts as a way to address the deficit should take note.
The mid-December poll surveyed 1,013 adults.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Four things to think about when choosing between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans
- For Americans, Medicare for all means continuity of care and far less disruption than the status quo
- How to get free or low-cost dental care
- Beginning at age 70.5, you must withdraw money from your retirement accounts
- Prednisone can have sinister side effects
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