[Peace-discuss] Biden-Linked Firm Tests Messages to Undercut 'Medicare for All'

[David Johnson]

 <https://www.bloomberg.com/> Bloomberg

Biden-Linked Firm Tests Messages to Undercut 'Medicare for All'

By 

 <https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/ASQHEB-ilHw/sahil-kapur> Sahil Kapur 

September 23, 2019, 12:35 PM CDT Updated on September 23, 2019, 4:18 PM CDT 

 

A new poll by a firm linked to Joe Biden is testing messages designed to
undercut support among Democrats for Medicare for All, one of the most
contentious issues splitting the party's top presidential contenders.

The
<https://thirdway.imgix.net/pdfs/override/2019-Health-Care-Poll-Toplines.pdf
> survey, commissioned by the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way,
found that primary voters start off favoring the government-run health care
system by a margin of 70% to 21%, but can be persuaded to oppose it. The
study showed that Democrats are most swayed by the arguments that the
program would impose a heavy cost on taxpayers and threaten Medicare for
senior citizens.

The poll was conducted by Lisa Grove of Anzalone Liszt Grove Research. Her
partner, John Anzalone, is the chief pollster and an adviser to Biden, who
opposes Medicare for All and wants to make government-run insurance
optional.

Biden's main rivals, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, support Medicare
for All, which would eliminate private insurance and create a system modeled
on Medicare that automatically covers all Americans.

Sanders took aim at the survey and some of the arguments it is designed to
test. "It is unfortunate but not surprising that Vice President Biden's
polling firm is helping distort what Medicare for All is about," he said in
a statement. Any tax increases would be used to eliminate costs for people
seeking health care, Sanders said.

The survey found that Democrats are most swayed to oppose Medicare for All
when told it would cost American taxpayers $3.2 trillion per year: 51% of
Democratic primary voters said they found that argument convincing, while
43% said they did not.

The poll also found that 51% of Democratic voters said the argument that it
would "end Medicare as we know it" was convincing, while 53% said the claim
that it would lower quality of care for seniors was convincing. And 51% said
the argument that Medicare for All could expand wait times and limit access
to medical specialists was convincing.

Sanders, the author of a Medicare for All bill pending in Congress, has been
upfront about the high cost but he and Warren have both argued that most
Americans would come out financially ahead because their health care costs
would drop. They argue that a single insurance plan would be the most
cost-effective way to care for all Americans, while allowing everyone to see
their provider of choice.

Notably, Democratic voters in the ALG Research survey were less swayed by
the fear of losing private employer-based coverage - 45% said that argument
was convincing while 49% said it was not.

The study conducted last month surveyed 813 Democratic primary voters in the
election as part of an overall sample of 1,800 likely voters. It found that
most general election voters also start off favoring Medicare for All but
that support diminishes once they hear arguments against it.

Jim Kessler, Third Way's executive vice president for policy, said the poll
shows that President Donald "Trump is deeply underwater on health care and
the only lifeline that could pull him to shore is Medicare for All."

The messages tested in the poll echo arguments made by Republicans against
Medicare for All. Democrats are split on whether the proposal would be a
liability in a general election or whether it would boost the party's hopes
of defeating Trump by galvanizing voters.

The survey also tested positive messages for Medicare for All. It showed
that 78% of Democrats were swayed by the argument that the U.S. should join
the rest of the world in making health care a right. In addition, 70% of
primary voters were swayed by the argument that Medicare for All would get
rid of out-of-pocket costs for anyone seeking care.

 

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