Gulf between Democrats and Republicans on health care widens: Kaiser

Health care is a big issue for Democratic voters this year. But for Republicans, not so much.

Most Democrats are focused on picking a candidate who can defeat President Donald Trump rather than one who comes closest to their views on issues, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Friday.

But when it comes to issues, 36% of Democratic voters said health care was their priority in the presidential election this year, the poll found. Climate change came in second at 29%.

Republicans, however, ranked health care only fourth, at 12%, behind the economy, immigration and foreign policy/national security.

GOP voters are also losing interest in repealing the Affordable Care Act. Among those who said health care was important to their vote, only 3% listed jettisoning the landmark health reform law as their top issue. In a 2016 poll, 29% of Republican voters named repealing Obamacare as their main concern, far ahead of health care costs.

Instead, their focus has turned to opposing “Medicare for All” or a single payer system, which would create a government-run health insurance program. Some 19% say it’s the top priority, behind health care costs, according to Friday’s poll.

Championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is currently leading the field of Democratic primary contenders, Medicare for All is also a contentious issue among Democrats. Some 12% favor only a national Medicare for All-type plan, while 20% support a more moderate government-run insurance option, which is promoted by former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Vice President Joe Biden and other candidates. Some 62% favor both.

The leftward shift of the Democratic party has put more distance between them and Republicans, who typically do not support greater government involvement in health care, said Drew Altman, CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“The gulf between Republicans and Democrats on health has never been wider,” he said, noting that the spread is greater on Medicare for All than it ever was on the Affordable Care Act.

Obamacare, meanwhile, is enjoying its highest overall favorability ratings since the law was signed in 2010 at 55%. Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare in 2017 shone a spotlight on popular provisions, including protecting people with pre-existing conditions and allowing children to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26, Altman said.

“Over time, and partly as a result of repeal-and-replace, people came to see the benefits of the ACA as real and meaningful for them,” he said.