All of the charts in this post are from a recent Gallup Poll. That poll was done between November 1st and 14th of a national sample of 1,015 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.
The top chart shows that a clear majority of Americans (54%) think it is the government's responsibility to see that all Americans are covered with decent health insurance. That includes 80% of Democrats, 56% of Independents, and 21% of Republicans.
That might sound to some like the public is ready for a single-payer, government-run insurance system (like Medicare For All). But that is not the case.
Consider the charts below. While Americans want the government to insure all Americans have decent health coverage, they are not ready to give up on the private insurance system. A majority (54%) say they want to stick with the private insurance system (including 31% of Democrats, 49% of Independents, and 84% of Republicans), while only 42% want to move to a government-run system.
I remain convinced that a Medicare For All system would be the best -- covering all Americans, and negotiating medical and drug costs. But it is pretty clear that not enough of the public believes that.
I do think the public supports creating a public option to cover those who can't afford private insurance (and would be available for anyone to buy into). That needs to be done now. Hopefully, once people realize how well that works (just like current Medicare does), it will be easier to move then to Medicare For All.
Elizabeth Warren has it right. A public option won't solve all our problems, but it is a necessary step before we can go further. We can't go further until a significant portion of Americans agree.
