Adapted
from Kaiser Family Foundation; Chart: Axios Visuals Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation
Public support
for Medicare for All might have peaked, but it’s still a powerful idea among
many Democrats.
By the numbers:
Support for the national health plan rose from around 40% in
2000 to a high of 59% in March of 2018, but had slipped back to 51% by October
of this year.
That's still a
majority, but it’s narrow and headed in the wrong direction. And polling
shows that support drops much further, and opposition rises, when people hear
some of the most common arguments against Medicare for All.
Between the
lines: Critics, debate moderators and the media have focused largely on
two unpopular tradeoffs in a Medicare for All plan: the large number of
Americans who would have to give up their private coverage; and the likelihood
of a middle class tax hike to finance the plan.
·
Sen. Elizabeth Warren took great pains to avoid one of those
criticisms in crafting her financing plan, which does not include a tax hike
for the middle class, but certainly includes other potential landmines.
·
Much less attention has been given to potential upsides, such as
eliminating out-of-pocket costs, achieving universal coverage, or reducing the
complexity of the health care system.
A public
option, Medicare buy-in and other more incremental, voluntary and less
expensive plans that are more difficult to make look threatening are more
popular than Medicare for All.
Yes but: Support for
Medicare for All is still strong among Democrats at 71%, so it remains an
effective rallying cry for progressive Democrats in the primary.
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