New poll on popularity of MFA finds most Americans STILL have MFA confused with the public option

[highplainsdem]

I want to emphasize this, because the poll supposedly shows how popular Medicare For All is, and you have to read a ways down in the article to find out one of the reasons why -- a lot of people apparently think MFA is the public option:

https://www.kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/kff-health-tracking-poll-january-2020/

There has been some shift in the public’s perception of how things would or would not change under Medicare-for-all since the first Democratic presidential debate. Compared to six months ago, larger shares of adults now say that, under Medicare-for-all, people with employer-sponsored insurance would not be able to keep their current coverage (45% vs. 38% in June 2019) and people who purchase their own plans would not be able to keep their current coverage (44% vs. 39%). Additionally, larger shares now say that individuals and employers would not continue to pay health insurance premiums (50% vs. 39%) and that people would not continue to pay deductibles and co-pays when they use health care services (33% vs. 27%).

Democrats, in particular, are now more likely to be familiar with some of the potential impacts of a Medicare-for-all plan than they were in the June 2019 Tracking Poll. With the Democratic presidential primary campaign featuring extensive debates over Medicare-for-all, Democrats are now more likely than they were six months ago to say that under a Medicare-for-all plan individuals and employers would not continue to pay health insurance premiums (53% vs. 31%). Similarly, compared to six months ago, Democrats are now more likely to say that under Medicare-for-all people with employer-sponsored insurance would not be able to keep their current health plans (41% vs. 25% in June 2019), that people who purchase their own insurance would not be able to keep their current plans (40% vs. 24%), and that people would not continue to pay deductibles and co-pays when they use health care services (36% vs. 25%).

(Emphasis added.)



LOOK at that.

After all the campaigning, 60% of Democrats STILL don't understand that Medicare For All means people would not be able to keep their own insurance if they want to.

And last June, that was true of 3/4 of Democrats.

THIS is why I've said, again and again here, that polling on MFA that isn't perfectly clear on the differences between MFA and the public option will always show a lot of supposed support for MFA that's due only to confusion, since there are so many people who really think MFA is the public option.

[UncleTomsEvilBrother]

1. I will also guarantee to you that...

...most people don't know what public option is. If it has ever been clearly stated by any candidate, it hasn't been clearly stated enough.


Part of the problem is Americans don't know what it entails.

[Recursion]

2. It's a real shame that "Medicaid for most; capitation budgeting for the rest"

is such a lousy bumper sticker. Because one way or another that's basically the system we're going to end up with. It's just a question of pushing the boulder to get there.

[George II]

3. I think some are preying on the confusion to promote the least appealing proposal....

....as though that's what the most people like.

[betsuni]

4. K&R

[DanTex]

5. Remarkable that 56% of the general public, not just Dems, supports M4A.

This is the plan everyone says we're supposed to be scared of?

And as the article points out, most of the public still doesn't know all the benefits of M4A, like that there would be no more premiums, or that there are no copays or deductibles. Not to mention the cost savings.

[highplainsdem]

6. Most of the public doesn't know MFA gives them no choice in whether they keep their own insurance.

That's what this part of the article points out.

You can't poll accurately if people don't understand the subjects your poll is about.

[DanTex]

7. Or that there are no premiums or copays and that it will save money overall.

They probably also don't know that nations around the world with single payer have lower costs and better healthcare outcomes than the US.

Same as any other policy poll: not everyone is going to be completely familiar with the policy being polled.

[Gothmog]

8. I am not surprised by this