Most Americans think that ‘Medicare for All’ will drive up income taxes, according to a survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, ahead of the Democratic presidential debates next week.
While health care is a leading topic on the minds of Democrats and left-leaning independents before the debates kick off next Wednesday, 78% of U.S. citizens surveyed across party lines believe that a single payer system, known as Medicare for All, would drive taxes higher, according to the poll.
What’s more, most Americans don’t appear to understand how a proposed national health plan would work with the majority of polled citizens saying that deductibles, co-pays and self-pay or employer-backed private health plans would continue to exist. “That is clearly an incorrect view given the current proposals in Congress,” Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Steven Halper wrote in a note to clients.
Medicare for all is “not as popular as some think,” Halper said. He gives the passage of a single payer system “zero probability” for right now and doesn’t expect that to change much after 2020 as Republicans are likely to keep their majority in the Senate. Sentiment may shift for the managed care sector including Anthem Inc., Cigna Corp., CVS Health Corp. and UnitedHealth Group as fears of the proposal continue to fade, he said.