New poll finds Medicare more important to voters than healthcare reform law

[cal04]

Last edited Thu Aug 16, 2012, 04:03 PM - Edit history (1)

http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/medicare/244005-poll-medicare-more-important-to-voters-than-health-law

Medicare ranks first in voters' minds and considerably above President Obama's healthcare overhaul as Americans decide who they will support for president, according to a new poll.
http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/8342.cfm

(snip)
Medicare received top billing, meanwhile, with 73 percent saying it is either "extremely" or "very" important as they make their choice for president.

(snip)
Medicare's significance to voters could spell trouble for the Romney-Ryan ticket in light of another recent polling figure.

According to a survey from Kaiser and The Washington Post, a strong majority of voters (58 percent) want Medicare to remain the way it is rather than see it partially privatized.

U.S. voters see Medicare as a top election issue: poll
http://news.yahoo.com/u-voters-see-medicare-top-election-issue-poll-180719573.html?_esi=1

(snip)
On Saturday, Romney announced he had picked Representative Paul Ryan, a lawmaker whose plan to cut billions of dollars from the U.S. deficit included transforming the costly, but popular, healthcare program for the elderly.

The nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation said on Thursday that 73 percent of respondents polled in the days around the announcement described Medicare as "very important" or "extremely important" to their votes. That included large majorities of Democrats, independents and Republicans.

The Kaiser foundation said a separate survey conducted a week earlier found that 58 percent of adults - including 55 percent of Republicans - favored keeping Medicare as it is today with all seniors receiving the same insurance benefits.

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. That didn't take long.

This is GREAT news. It could have cost OFA millions to tie the Ryan budget to Rmoney. Thanks Willard!

On edit - this is even better than I thought. From that link:

Most interviews in the August 7-12 poll were conducted before Governor Mitt Romney announced Representative Paul Ryan as his running mate on August 11th, which has led to a greater focus on Medicare in the news.

This was a poll of Republican voters.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. I just read that part myself and was going to come back and mention it.

Since you've already done it for me, I'll just...

[Ruby the Liberal]

4. I know, right? Here is the whole paragraph:

This poll conducted as the GOP prepares for its national convention finds that the Affordable Care Act is not the top health care priority among Republicans. While jobs are still the number one issue for Republicans, when asked about the health care issues that will impact their vote this fall, Republicans' top concern was the cost of health care and insurance, named by two-thirds (67%) as either "extremely" or "very important" to their vote in Kaiser's August Health Tracking Poll. Next on the list was Medicare, cited by six in ten Republicans (61%) as being important to their vote, while the 2010 health care law ranked third, at 54 percent. Most interviews in the August 7-12 poll were conducted before Governor Mitt Romney announced Representative Paul Ryan as his running mate on August 11th, which has led to a greater focus on Medicare in the news.

Makes me giddy.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

2. Ryan was the right choice as a running mate.

At least from my perspective.

[madrchsod]

5. actually medicare is party `privatized` compared to to other nations.

i have to buy supplemental insurance to cover the costs medicare does`t cover.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Oops, GOP strategists miss the mark again!

[bvar22]

7. How EASY it would have been to simply expand Medicare...

...instead of the "Uniquely American Solution" we are stuck with.