Medicare for All Loses Momentum Among Democrats

Democratic support for Medicare for All is flagging as voters worry about its costs and impact on private and employer health coverage, reports the Wall Street Journal . "At the slogan level, it makes a lot of sense," acknowledges Lara Brown with George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. "As people start putting together a plan, and people hear about it, it's disconcerting." Research calculated that the proposal would top $30 trillion over 10 years, while advocates promise it would eventually reduce overall U.S. healthcare expenditures. Republicans, insurers, and other industry players counter that the program would terminate employer coverage now received by about 155 million employees. A Morning Consult/Politico survey of 1,991 voters found net support for a single-payer health system among all registered voters slipped from about 30 percent in November 2018 to 12 percent in February. Health analysts and political-science researchers noted support has softened as people learn more details of Medicare for All, especially when they realize their own individual coverage would end. Other studies also saw declining support as respondents learned it would raise taxes.