As a republicans of the Congress weigh major reductions in MedicaidMost voters do not want to see the financing of the public health plan recommend, according to A survey Released on Friday by KFF, a non -partisan health research firm.
Only 17% of respondents said they supported Medicaid, the governmental health insurance program that covers more than 70 million people. Forty percent said they wanted to continue unchanged and 42% said they would like it to increase.
But at the same time, the survey has found significant support for certain policies that would limit the program, as requiring registrants to function. More than 60% of voters – and 47% of Democrats – supported a work requirement, according to the survey.
This change, which was defended by certain Republicans of the Congress, Is estimated To reduce about $ 100 billion in Medicaid, like those who were unemployed – or could not deposit the documents showing that they had work – would no longer be covered. The cost of the program was $ 584 billion in 2024or around 8% of the total federal spending.
The survey also illustrated the wide range of Medicaid, with a little more than half of the respondents saying that they or a family member had at some point coverage of Medicaid. There was an almost universal agreement according to which Medicaid counted local communities of voters, with 98% of Democrats and 94% of the Republicans saying that they thought it was somewhat or very important.
The Republicans at the Congress are considering several changes In Medicaid while they are looking for ways to pay for the tax cuts of President Trump. Last month, the Chamber adopted a budget which, if it was approved by the Senate and signed by the President, could cut up to $ 880 billion of the program during the next decade. This could happen with the work requirements, the ceilings on federal expenses for the program or the reduction of the costs that the federal government pays.
Although respondents in the survey are generally in favor of work requirements, they had false ideas on politics: sixty-two percent of voters thought that most of Medicaid registrants are unemployed, while in fact A large majority has jobs.
Republican voters have also expressed an opening to reducing the financing of the expansion of the MEDICAIDI affordable care law. Currently, the federal government pays 90% of costs for expansion participants, who tend to be healthy adults. It is a higher part than what it covers for other registered, such as children or people with disabilities.
Sixty -four percent of republican voters – and 40% of voters overall – have declared that they would support the reduction of the federal government’s contribution to the expansion of Medicaid. The Républicains de la Chambre continue to weigh this option, even if President Mike Johnson said last week that it was not on the table.
Voters’ opinions on reducing the funding of Medicaid expansion seemed malleable in the face of additional information.
When the respondents received more information on politics, including the fact that millions could lose coverage, republican support fell to 43%. But to say that the change would reduce federal spending by around $ 600 billion increased support to 73%.
The survey resembles what the Americans felt during the Act respecting affordable care repeals the debate in 2017, when the Republicans failed to make the law back down largely due to the political opposition to the Medicaid cups. At the time70% of voters supported the work requirements and 36% favored the reduction in funding for Medicaid expansion.
“Medicaid is a very popular program among a large bunch of audiences, including Republicans,” said Mollyann Brodie, executive director of KFF investigation research.
But, she added, “opinions could be quickly moved in the context of the debate where people learn more information and believe that their coverage is threatened.”
(Tagstotranslate) Medicaid