Poll: 2 out of 3 voters favor Medicaid expansion 'in general'; 1 in 5 expect to pay penalty

Aug 1 2012

A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds views generally reflect partisan affiliations, and, overall, the the public remains split in its view of the 2010 health law. A slim majority (54 percent) says they are tired of hearing lawmakers fight over the law and would like the debate to move on to other topics.

Reuters: Poll Shows Most Americans Favor Medicaid Expansion
In a survey released on Tuesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, 67 percent of respondents gave a favorable view of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform provision to "expand the existing Medicaid program to cover more low‐income, uninsured adults." ... Support dropped to 49 percent when poll participants were asked whether they would like to see Medicaid expanded in their home states, and a slight majority of 52 percent preferred maintaining the status quo when pollsters suggested an expansion could cost their states more money (Morgan, 7/31).

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Medicaid Expansion Favored In General, Less So Near Home, Survey Finds
Americans are broadly supportive of the health care law's expansion of Medicaid to cover millions of uninsured people, according to a new poll.  But they are less enthusiastic about expanding it in their own states after they realize state taxpayers will pick up some of the cost (Rau, 7/31).

Politico Pro: Poll: 1 In 5 Think They'll Get Hit By Penalty
One in five Americans expects to pay the individual mandate penalty imposed by the Affordable Care Act, according to a new poll by Kaiser Family Foundation, despite assurances by the Obama administration that far fewer will be asked to pony up. The poll found that 19 percent believe they'll be subject to the health law's penalty on Americans who fail to obtain health insurance by 2014. For those keeping score, that's 10 to 20 times as many as President Barack Obama predicted would actually face the fine (Cheney, 7/31).

Modern Healthcare: Views Closely Divided On Medicaid Expansion
Public support for Medicaid expansion is closely divided in a monthly poll that asked respondents about broadening the safety net in their home states. Forty-nine percent said they would prefer their own state to expand Medicaid and 43% said they would not change eligibility, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll found. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allows states to expand Medicaid coverage, but June's U.S. Supreme Court decision on the healthcare reform law stuck down a hefty threat-;the potential loss of all Medicaid funds-;if states did not widen access to Medicaid (Evans, 7/31).