New Poll Shows Americans Understand and Embrace Medicare-for-All
Good news emerged this week in the fight for health care justice in the United States. A new poll shows that the majority of Americans support single-payer health care. In a single-payer system, every American would be guaranteed a basic level of health care, much like Medicare guarantees health coverage to all American seniors.
Among the poll’s other findings: 80 percent of self-identified Democrats support single-payer, in addition to one-quarter of Republicans. President Obama himself backed single-payer as a state senator. As for a “public option,” where Americans would be given the choice to buy into Medicare before they turn 65, only 13 percent of the public was opposed.
In many ways, this poll is remarkable. More and more Americans understand and embrace a universal Medicare-for-all health plan. Stay tuned for Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) re-introductions of their versions of single-payer, Medicare-for-All bills this year.
Vijay Das is a health care advocate for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch.
January 23, 2015 @ 6:32 pm
It is not true that Obama supported single payer. He said he did once years ago in front of what he knew was a pro-single-payer audience, and when he did not have the power to do anything about it. But every time he’s had the chance to support it (if we pay attention) he minces his words and walks a very crooked walk. I have a copy of the public record of him telling the Illinois General Assembly back in 2004 (after he gutted the “Illinois Healthcare Justice Act” that would have guaranteed healthcare justice and equality everyone in Illinois by the year 2007, with Democrats in complete control) that he wanted to say on the record that he does not support a single payer system. ACA is the biggest legislative roadblock to single payer ever constructed.