Poll finds CT voters not eager to embrace ‘Medicare for All’

The concept of “Medicare for All” being raised by several candidates seeking the Democratic Party nomination for president is not gaining traction with Connecticut voters, according to a poll conducted by Sacred Heart University”™s Institute for Public Policy in partnership with the Hartford Courant.

In a survey of 1,000 Connecticut residents conducted between Sept. 17 and Oct. 2, 73.8% respondents admitted that they were “very” or “somewhat” aware of the “Medicare for All” term. However, 38.3% of respondents stated their opposition to a single taxpayer-financed national health care system and 46.7% said they were either “strongly” or “somewhat” opposed to moving to a “Medicare for All” if it meant that all private health insurance would be prohibited in favor of a federally administered program.

There was more popularity among the survey”™s respondents concerning another policy proposal touted by Democratic contenders for their party”™s presidential nomination. When asked if they supported a plan to eliminate up to $50,000 in student loan debt for middle- and lower-income Americans, 60.9% of residents said they either felt “strongly” or “somewhat” in support the plan. To help fund this kind of initiative, another 58% said they either “strongly” or “somewhat” supported a plan to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for all public colleges becoming “debt free” for students.

As for the presidential race in 2020, the survey proposed match-ups between the leading Democratic contenders and President Trump. The highest share of respondents favored former Vice President Joe Biden (52.2%) over Trump (33.3%), followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (51.1% percent over 35% for Trump) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (48.8% over 35% for Donald Trump).