Black Voters Back Medicare for All, Not So Much the Candidates Pushing It

[question everything]

African-American voters back Medicare for All more than other groups, polls show, but the policy’s two chief proponents in the 2020 Democratic presidential race haven’t been able to translate that into widespread black support. Instead, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren continue to lag well behind Joe Biden with black voters. The former vice president has been a chief critic among Democrats of Medicare for All and prefers a more moderate expansion of health insurance. In a recent South Carolina poll, he led Mr. Sanders and Ms. Warren by more than 30 points with black voters.

African-Americans are poised to play an important role in the Democratic primaries in South Carolina and a swath of states that hold March nominating contests. They support a single-payer health-care plan more than other groups, at 74%, compared with 44% among white voters and 69% among Hispanics, according to polls conducted between September and November by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Support for Medicare for All dropped among white and Hispanic voters when they were told the policy would involve eliminating private plans and could mean tax increases. But a majority of African-Americans backed the proposal even with that understanding, the Kaiser polls found.

(snip)

Another reason African-Americans might be sticking with Mr. Biden: They support a Medicare buy-in, like the public insurance option the former vice president has proposed, even more than Medicare for All... September polling from The Wall Street Journal/NBC News found that African-American support for a Medicare buy-in, which was at 70%, was in line with support from other groups. That poll found African-American support for Medicare for All was at 65%, compared with 41% among voters overall

(snip)

Many African-Americans across the early-voting states said they preferred to bolster the Affordable Care Act, the signature achievement of Mr. Obama. “I want to tweak the ACA instead of get rid of it,” said Angel Lynk, a retired human-resources coordinator who lives in Mississippi and was undecided about how she would vote. She attended Ms. Warren’s recent rally during a visit to Chicago. Ms. Lynk, 67, said she learned that Ms. Warren’s vision of health care would ultimately eliminate private insurance but open up government-run health care for everyone. “I don’t think I’m for that,” she said... Some older African-Americans said that scrapping the current U.S. health-care system felt unrealistic. Larry Rhodes, 74, a retired avionics mechanic from Greenville, N.C., said of the Warren and Sanders health plans: “They got to have a different version because they can’t afford it.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/black-voters-back-medicare-for-all-not-so-much-the-candidates-pushing-it-11575720002 (paid subscription)

[George II]

1. I think 70% or more Americans back universal health care, most some plan other than....

...."medicare for all", which is a misuse of the name of our current Medicare system as it exists today.

That's where the disconnect between so-called "medicare for all" (i.e., universal health care) and the candidates pushing it comes from.

[Kurt V.]

2. agree. words (and messaging) matter.

[Blue_true]

5. People want a choice in selecting health insurance that is best for them.

I seriously believe that Warren and Sanders aren't breaking through and won't break through because millions of Americans view their plans as taking away the choice option.

[JoeOtterbein]

3. Of course!

What's not to like about MFA?

[bluedovepdx]

4. Voters who

support Medicare 4 All as a top priority must vote for candidates who are running on it. If those voters don't support M4A candidates those voters aren't voting their interest and shouldn't expect their candidate to push for it....and shouldn't expect progress on the issue.