Republicans want to roll back the Medicaid
expansion, cap federal Medicaid spending increases, and add work requirements,
drug testing, time limits, copays and premiums to some state Medicaid programs.
But almost no one else wants to do these things. One poll finding goes a long
way toward explaining why: Republicans view Medicaid as a form of welfare, and
pretty much everyone else views it as a government insurance program.
Why it matters: Welfare remains unpopular in our country; it's always
popular to limit or cut "welfare". Whether it should be, and what
this says about us, is a different question.
What the poll found: As the chart shows, Democrats (73%) and independents (62%) view
Medicaid as an insurance program similar to others that help people pay for
health care. But a slight majority of Republicans (52%), see it as more similar
to welfare programs like food stamps.
Between the lines: One reason Medicaid limits are no slam dunk for Republicans in
the Senate may be that not all Republicans view it as welfare: 46% see it as
insurance, just as most Democrats and Independents do. Republicans who are more
moderate are worried about the practical effects on citizens and states of
rolling back the expansion or cutting federal Medicaid spending. One assumes
they wouldn't worry as much unless they viewed Medicaid as valuable health
insurance coverage.
Perceptions of Medicaid as welfare don't seem
bothered much by facts, such as, for example, that two thirds of Medicaid
spending goes for the low income elderly and disabled who don't fit the Ronald
Reagan era image of the welfare king or queen. But it's not the majority view
in any case. A little less than a third of voters identify as Republicans
today, and about half of them see Medicaid as welfare.
It's this group and their perceptions of the program, and
elected officials who share their views, that seem to be driving debate about
Medicaid today.
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