Potential “Concepts” of a Republican Health Care Plan Are Widely Unpopular
By Rob Todaro
When the topic of health care came up at the last presidential debate on Sept. 10, former President Donald Trump said that he has “concepts of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and that the public would be “hearing about it in the not-too-distant future.”
A new Data for Progress survey tested different concepts that could be included in a Republican health care plan, based on the party’s 2017 policy proposals to repeal the ACA and excerpts from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
When voters are asked whether or not the ACA should be repealed, a majority of voters (61%) say “we should keep the Affordable Care Act,” including 47% who say it should be kept and strengthened and 14% who say it should be kept and left as is. Fewer than one-third of voters (30%) say the ACA should be repealed.
Strong majorities of Democratic (84%) and Independent (60%) voters support either strengthening the ACA or keeping it as is. Republicans are more divided than Democrats, with a slight majority (51%) saying the ACA should be repealed (whether or not it is replaced), 37% saying the ACA should be kept and either strengthened or left as is, and 12% saying they don’t know.
When different Republican health care proposals are tested, every item is unpopular with voters overall — and several are very unpopular with Republicans.
At least 75% of voters across party lines oppose allowing insurers to deny coverage or charge people more if they have pre-existing conditions, and at least 70% of voters across party lines oppose stopping Medicare from having the ability to negotiate lower drug prices. Protecting people with pre-existing conditions is a cornerstone of the ACA, and Medicare negotiating lower drug prices is a key policy of the Inflation Reduction Act.
More than 65% of voters across party lines also oppose allowing insurers to impose annual and lifetime limits on health coverage and allowing health insurance companies to charge higher premiums to individuals who let their health coverage lapse.
Majorities of voters, including Independents, also oppose decreasing federal funding for public health care programs (67%) and decreasing regulations of health insurance companies (54%) — both keystones of GOP health care policy. Furthermore, a majority of voters (52%), including 56% of Independents, oppose making it the official policy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that abortion is not health care. The Biden administration's current policy is that abortion is health care.
Lastly, nearly half of voters (48%), including a plurality of Independents (44%), oppose creating stricter work requirements for Medicaid recipients, while 39% are supportive.
This polling illustrates how different proposals that might be included in a Republican health care plan — from repealing key provisions of the Affordable Care Act and Inflation Reduction Act to slashing federal funding for public health care programs and decreasing regulations of health insurance companies — are widely unpopular among the electorate. Proposals to allow insurers to deny coverage or charge people more if they have pre-existing conditions and to stop Medicare from having the ability to negotiate lower drug prices are particularly unpopular.
Rob Todaro (@robtodaro) is the Communications Director at Data for Progress.