When Medicare for All took center stage in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, opponents undercut growing support for the initiative by homing in on how it would raise taxes and eliminate health insurers. Those opponents succeeded: polls at the time showed that while Americans conceptually supported the idea of a government-sponsored system, many didn’t want it to replace private insurance. Surveys showed support for Medicare for All dropped precipitously if the program were to eliminate private insurance.
Soon after, Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren (MA), a Medicare for All proponent, badly stumbled over the tax and private insurance question and lost her front-runner status in the presidential primary polls. With party acolytes still valorizing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rather than pressing for something better, Democratic voters then nominated avowed Medicare for All opponent Joe Biden, who was elected promising a public health insurance option, and then literally never mentioned it again upon taking office.
That might have been the end of Medicare for All for another generation — except now the ACA is epically and undeniably failing to guarantee “affordable” health care. As private health insurers are now jacking up premiums for tens of millions of Americans, a new poll shows a huge majority of Americans now want Medicare for All — even if it entails eliminating private health insurers and raising taxes.In the survey, 63 percent of Americans said they support Medicare for All, even knowing that it “would eliminate most private insurance plans and replace premiums with higher taxes.” That support was spread across the political spectrum — it’s garnered 78 percent support from Democrats, 64 percent support from independents, and 47 percent (a plurality) support from Republicans. In all, just 29 percent of voters were opposed.
To put the enormity of this change in perspective, consider that six years ago, polls showed…
Auteur: David Sirota
