Polling shows Michiganders reject the plan which would eliminate private health insurance

Today, The Wall Street Journal highlighted new data showing that Michiganders soundly reject Medicare-for-All—a proposal that would eliminate private health insurance in favor of a government-run system.

First proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Medicare-for-All is being embraced by Sen. Gary Peters—who recently said Medicare-for-All was, “coming down the road.”

A July survey of 600 likely voters conducted by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce showed that a majority of Michigan voters opposed Medicare-for-All, with only about a third responding in support.

A poll released just last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Cook Political Report revealed that nearly two-thirds of swing voters in Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin said Medicare-for-All was a, “bad idea.” The policy remains unpopular with working families and union workers who have earned retiree health care benefits through years of hard work and negotiations.

Medicare-for-All would lead to a decrease in quality of care and an increase in wait times, according to Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute. “By making health care free, single-payer stokes patient demand for care. To contain costs, governments cut payments to doctors and hospitals,” Pipes said in a September Detroit News Op-Ed. “That leads to staff shortages and closures. Rationing of care is the inevitable result.” 

Peters was asked about his support for Medicare-for-All and declined multiple opportunities to change his mind. He predicts that Medicare-for-All is coming down the road, which would result in hundreds of thousands of Michiganders losing their private and employer-sponsored health insurance plans.