Americans trust Dems more on health care: poll

Americans trust Democrats more than Republicans on health care, according to a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.

The poll found that respondents trust Democrats over Republicans on health care, 40 percent to 23 percent. 

{mosads}The AP noted that Americans polled on several other topics of national policy, including immigration and the economy, were more evenly divided over which party they trust more to handle those issues.

Americans are open to the government taking primary responsibility for providing health insurance, with 57 percent of those surveyed saying they believe the federal government is responsible for making sure all Americans have health care coverage. Forty-one percent said the opposite, according to the poll.

Among those surveyed, 42 percent said they support a single-payer system like the one touted by progressives including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); 31 percent of those polled, meanwhile, expressed opposition to such a plan while one-quarter said they were undecided. The results broke down along partisan lines, according to the AP. 

More Americans said they were open to buying into a government program than a single-payer plan, according to the survey. About 53 percent of those polled said they favored a buy-in option, with 17% opposed and 29% undecided. 

Democrats effectively wielded health care as a weapon in 2018, pointing to Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in an election cycle that ushered in a new Democratic House majority.

The party is now facing a test on how broadly it should pledge to expand government-sponsored coverage. Some 2020 presidential candidates have urged an expansion of the ACA while others are making a push for a single-payer system.

“Medicare for All” will take center stage next week when the House oversees a hearing on the proposal and the Congressional Budget Office will issue a report detailing the impacts of putting the entire health care system under federal control.

The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,108 adults from April 11-14 and has a margin of error of 4.1 percent.