ICYMI: New Poll Shows Voters Strongly Prefer Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All Over Joe Biden’s Health Care Plan

Post-debate ABC News/Ipsos Poll finds Medicare for All appeals to nearly 4-out-of-5 primary voters, Sanders’ message with nearly 2-to-1 advantage over Biden.

August 6, 2019

WASHINGTON –A new poll shows Democratic voters strongly prefer Bernie Sanders’ health care message over Joe Biden’s message by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, with Medicare for All appealing to nearly 4-out-of-5 voters.

In the ABC News/Ipsos poll, Democratic primary voters were shown video clips of Sanders advocating for Medicare for All and Biden arguing for expanding the Affordable Care Act. Voters found the arguments:

• “Very convincing”: Sanders on Medicare for All 31% – 18% Biden on health care
• Overall “convincing”: Sanders on Medicare for All 77% – 70% Biden on health care

“Bernie Sanders’ fight to guarantee health care to all Americans through a Medicare for All system is not only a moral necessity — polls show it is also the most compelling health care message to mobilize voters to win the primary and defeat Donald Trump in the general election,” said campaign manager Faiz Shakir.

Health care remains the top polling issue among Democrats — and recent health care-related surveys show positive trends for Sanders’ campaign. They include:

• Surveys show Sanders leads on health care: Recent CNN, ABC/Washington Post and Reuters/Ipsos polls show Sanders is the most trusted candidate on the issue among Democratic voters.
• Surveys show strong majority support for Medicare for All among all voters, not just Democratic primary voters: Recent polls show majorities of all voters – not just Democratic primary voters – support Medicare for All. These data include surveys from HarrisX (70% support), RealClear Opinion Research (65% support), Morning Consult (55% support), YouGov (53% support) and ABC News/Washington Post (52% support).
• Surveys show majority support for Medicare for All replacing private insurance: A recent RealClear Opinion Research poll found 55% support Medicare for All even when it is described as “a system that will eliminate all private health insurance companies.” A recent Morning Consult poll found 55% support Medicare For All even if it would “diminish the role of private insurers.” A recent YouGov poll found 53% support a program that would move Americans “from private insurance to the Medicare for All plan.” And Tulchin Research polls of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania found Medicare for All support at majority support (+20 margin) even when voters are told that the proposal “takes away the current private health plans of millions of people.”