Poll: Democrats Say They Are Hearing Enough From Presidential Candidates About Medicare-for-All and Expanding Coverage, But Want Them to Talk More about Health Costs and Women’s Health Care

Nearly Two Thirds of the Public Do Not Want the Courts to Overturn the ACA’s Pre-Existing Condition Protections, Though Nearly Half of Republicans Do

The poll also looks at the public’s views on a pending court case that could overturn all or parts of the Affordable Care Act. A federal judge in Texas last year ruled in favor of conservative state attorneys general that the entire law was invalid since Congress zeroed out the penalty. The Trump Administration subsequently expressed its support for eliminating the entire ACA, including the provisions that prevent insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions. An appeals court is now weighing its decision in the case, and the results could eventually end up before the Supreme Court.

The poll finds the public narrowly divided on whether the Supreme Court should overturn the entire ACA, with 43% favoring such a decision and 48% opposing it. This reflects partisan views of the law itself, with most Republicans (75%) wanting it overturned, most Democrats (69%) wanting to keep it, and independents falling in between (51% want to keep it, 40% want it overturned).

At the same time, most (63%) do not want to see the Supreme Court overturn the law’s protections for people with pre-existing condition protections. This includes most Democrats (71%) and independents (73%). Among Republicans, 47% say they want the court to overturn those protections and 42% say they do not.

The poll finds half (51%) of the public views the ACA favorably this month, while 40% view it unfavorably. The split is similar to other KFF polls over the past two years since President Trump and Republicans in Congress attempted to repeal the 2010 law.

Designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF, the poll was conducted October 3-8, 2019 among a nationally representative random digit dial telephone sample of 1,205 adults. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (300) and cell phone (905). The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample. For results based on subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher.

*A leader in health policy analysis and health journalism, the KFF is dedicated to filling the need for trusted information on national health issues. The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit organization focusing on national health issues, as well as the U.S. role in global health policy. Unlike grant-making foundations, KFF develops and runs its own policy analysis, journalism and communications programs, sometimes in partnership with major news organizations. KFF serves as a non-partisan source of facts, analysis and journalism for policymakers, the media, the health policy community and the public. Our product is information, always provided free of charge — from the most sophisticated policy research, to basic facts and numbers, to in depth health policy news coverage provided by our news service, KHN, to information young people can use to improve their health or the general public can use to understand the health reform law. The modern day KFF was established in the early 1990s with its current mission and operating style. It is not associated with Kaiser Permanente.

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Poll: Democrats Say They Are Hearing Enough From Presidential Candidates About Medicare-for-All and Expanding Coverage, But Want Them to Talk More about Health Costs and Women’s Health Care

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