Americans Want Medicare and Medicaid Left Alone

It turns out that our health policy still matters to us, which shouldn’t surprise anybody – except a few politicians next election.

A recent Rasmussen poll found that healthcare remains the second most important issue, behind the economy, to our people.  63% say it is very important to them in determining their vote.

And last week, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll was released.

source: Washington Post-ABC News Poll, 4/14-17/11

On the two major health care spending issues of the day – Medicare and Medicaid – the public had surprisingly strong opinions.  And it seems that some political leaders are incredibly out of touch with those opinions.

Only 21% supported cutting Medicare.  78% were opposed, 65% strongly.

Only 30% supported cutting Medicaid.  69% were opposed, 52% strongly.

This comes after an avalanche of political debate about deficits that blame them on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. 

Many elected officials, led by Representative Paul Ryan, single out entitlement spending as what’s wrong with government spending these days.  They favor deep cuts to health, mental health, and other safety net programs, while favoring tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.

From the Washington Post-ABC News poll, it doesn’t appear that the people are buying what these politicians are trying to sell.

People who follow the news regularly know that the deficit is as high as it is not because of entitlements, but because of a combination of the Bush tax cuts and Congress’s waging of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without raising any money to pay for them.

More tax cuts and more wars aren’t going to help.

The poll results show clearly that people do not blame government-run health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid for the deficit.  After all, people recognize that they pay a dedicated Medicare tax on every paycheck they receive, but no war tax.  It’s pretty hard to miss.

So when they were asked how the budget deficit should be closed, 59% of the people said through a combination of tax increases and spending cuts.

Just as there is consensus on not cutting health care, there is a great deal of consensus about where to raise taxes.  72% thought income taxes should be increased on those making more than $250,000 a year.  54% were strongly in support of this; only 17% were strongly opposed.

Interestingly, the Affordable Care Act already contains a provision to add a new Medicare tax on unearned income for those making more than $250,000, but people would like to see regular income tax rates increased on these incomes as well.

Of course, almost 80% of poll respondents had incomes less than $100,000.  It’s always easier to support raising someone else’s taxes instead of one’s own.

However, in this instance, almost half of the people were surprisingly unselfish when it comes to pitching in to help. 

45% said they would support raising taxes on all Americans while making small reductions in Medicare and Social Security benefits to bring down the deficit.  While a slim majority – 53% - opposed this approach, only 40% opposed it strongly.

However, they are very clear that they don’t want Medicare changed dramatically, to a voucher program or privatized.  65% said they want it to remain the way it is today, versus only 34% who want it changed. 

What might be the reason? The Medicare program consistently pays out well over 90% of premium dollars in benefits.  People understand that private insurers cannot match this level of efficiency, and they don’t want to pay more money for fewer benefits, for their parents or for themselves.

Even most of the 34% supporting Medicare privatization change their minds when they factor in the cost increases associated with private insurance.  When asked if they would continue to support privatization if the value of the vouchers didn’t go up as fast as their premiums, 60% said no, leaving only 14% still in favor.

People support their government-run health programs. They want a Medicaid program that will help provide for the long term care needs of elders and people with disabilities, and provide safety net coverage for the poor.

As they’ve become more experienced with private managed care, people have become more skeptical of its benefits.  They don’t want someone making what could be a life or death decision for them or their loved ones based on cost.  And they certainly don’t want this decision made somewhere in a corporate backroom.

When people say “don’t touch my government-run health care,” they’re not trying to hold onto something we can no longer afford.  They’re keeping a firm grip on the one thing standing between many of us and misery.   

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