Poll: Public Mixed on Whether Medicaid Work Requirements Are More to Cut Spending or to Lift People Up
At a time when the
The
When asked the goal of work requirements, four in 10 (41 percent) say it is to reduce government spending by limiting the people enrolled in the program, while a third (33 percent) say it is to lift people out of poverty as proponents say.
While larger shares of
In addition to work requirements, five states are currently seeking Medicaid waivers to impose lifetime limits on the benefits that non-disabled adults could receive under the Medicaid program. The poll finds the public skeptical of such a shift, with two thirds (66 percent) saying Medicaid should be available to low-income people as long as they qualify, twice the share (33 percent) as say it should only provide temporary help for a limited time.
Substantial majorities of
These views may reflect people's personal experiences with Medicaid and the generally positive views the public has toward the current program, which provides health coverage and long-term care to tens of millions of low-income adults and children nationally.
Seven in 10 Americans report a personal connection to Medicaid at some point in their lives - either directly through their own health insurance coverage (32 percent) or their child being covered (9 percent), or indirectly through a friend or other family member (29 percent).
Three in four (74 percent) hold favorable views of Medicaid, including significant majorities of
Most Residents of Non-Expansion States Favor Medicaid Expansion to Cover More Low-Income People
Under the Affordable Care Act, most states expanded their Medicaid programs to cover more low-income adults. In the 18 states that have not done so, a majority (56 percent) say that their state should expand Medicaid to cover more low-income adults, while nearly four in 10 (37 percent) say their state should keep Medicaid as it is today.
Slightly more than half of
Favorable Views of the
The poll finds 54 percent of the public now holds a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act, the highest share recorded in more than 80 KFF polls since the law's enactment in 2010. This reflects a slight increase in favorable views since January (50 percent), while unfavorable views held steady at 42 percent.
The shift toward more positive views comes primarily from independents (55 percent view the ACA favorably this month, up slightly from 48 percent in January).
Public Remains Confused about Repeal of the ACA's Individual Mandate
The poll also probes the public's awareness about the repeal of the ACA's requirement that nearly all Americans have health insurance or pay a fine, commonly known as the individual mandate. The tax legislation enacted in
About four in 10 people (41 percent) are aware that
However, misunderstandings persist. Most (61 percent) of the public is either unaware that the requirement has been repealed (40 percent) or is aware of its repeal but mistakenly believes the requirement will not be in effect during 2018 (21 percent). Few (13 percent) are both aware that it has been repealed and that it remains in effect for this year.
Costs are Voters' Top Health Care Concern ahead of the 2018 Midterm Elections
Looking ahead to this year's midterm elections, the poll finds Democratic, Republican and independent voters most often cite costs as the health care issue that they most want candidates to address.
When asked to say in their own words what health care issue that they most want candidates to discuss, more than twice as many voters mention health care costs (22 percent) as any other issue, including repealing or opposing the Affordable Care Act (7 percent). Costs are the clear top issue for
Designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the
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