As Coronavirus Surges, Medicare for All Support Hits 9-Month High
The 55 percent share is the highest level of support Morning Consult has recorded since June 2019, when 54 percent backed “Medicare for All.” The latest figure is also within the 2-point margin of error of the record-high 56 percent figure notched in January 2019, when Morning Consult began tracking the issue monthly at the onset of the Democratic presidential primary.
Though Democrats drove the movement in the most recent poll, they didn’t do so alone: For the first time since June 2019, a majority of independents are in favor of Medicare for All (52 percent), sparking an 8-point increase in net support among this demographic since February.
As the domestic COVID-19 caseload spirals and economists predict a historic surge in unemployment, millions of Americans are bracing for potentially untenable health care costs and lapses in coverage, reviving questions about the viability of a health system that relies on binding insurance to employment.
Though it remains to be seen whether the growing enthusiasm for a single-payer system will outlive the trenches of the pandemic, the poll suggests progressive lawmakers may have an opportunity to sway key demographics — support for Medicare for All grew among people in the $50,000-$100,000 income bracket, voters between 45 and 54 years old and black voters by roughly 10 points each.
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