The 2024 election results all but guarantee a slew of major changes to our health care policy in the United States. President-elect Donald Trump spent much of his first term trying and failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and then, on the presidential debate stage, falsely claimed to have saved the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while his vice president talked about repealing protections for people with pre-existing conditions. The president-elect urged his new nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to “go wild on health care.”
While the Trump health care agenda is murky, the American people are clear about the health care agenda they’d like to see. In a new poll with Morning Consult, The Century Foundation found that even in a deeply divided country, there are a few things Americans do agree on when it comes to health care.
Nearly all Americans want protections for people with pre-existing conditions
In our survey, a staggering 88 percent of Americans thought that maintaining protections for people with pre-existing health conditions should be a “top priority” or an “important priority” for the Trump–Vance administration. Ensuring that the more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing health conditions can’t be denied coverage or price gouged by insurance companies was a cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act.
FIGURE 1
Yet, vice-president-elect Vance argued against this approach to including all people in the same coverage, no matter their health status, in September. Evidence shows that even well-funded efforts to cover people with pre-existing conditions in separate high-risk pools have failed.
A nationwide abortion ban should not be on the table
When asked, Americans felt strongly that a nationwide abortion ban should not be a priority for the Trump–Vance administration at all. Fully half of Americans said that a national abortion ban should not be a priority, while less than a quarter (24 percent) of Americans felt it was an important or top priority. Importantly, 74 percent of independents said it should not be a priority at all or not too important a priority, as did the 64 percent of voters for whom health policy was a major consideration when voting.
The vice president-elect ran a campaign for Senate two years ago on a platform of a national abortion ban and the president-elect bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade. That said, only a third (33 percent) of Republicans think it is very or somewhat likely that a national abortion ban would be signed into law in the Trump presidency.
Americans want lower costs when it comes to their health care
Across the board, Americans of all demographics wanted the Trump–Vance administration to pursue policies that lower costs for Americans. For example, 81 percent of voters want the $35 a month cap on insulin for Medicare enrollees passed in the Inflation Reduction Act expanded to all Americans, including 85 percent of seniors, 84 percent of Democrats, and 77 percent of Republicans. When it comes to prescription drug prices, a large bipartisan majority also wants to build on the Inflation Reduction Act and increase the number of drugs that the government can negotiate prices on.
FIGURE 2
When it comes to expanding coverage for in vitro fertilization—something President-elect Trump promised to do on the campaign trail—59 percent of voters said it should be a top or important priority, including 63 percent of women under age 45.
Lastly on costs, Congress would be wise to prevent a reduction scheduled in a little more than a year of tax credits that are currently lowering coverage costs for over 20 million Americans: 84 percent of voters—a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—say preventing health insurance premiums from rising when those tax credits expire is a top or important priority. As our analysis explained, this policy lowered health coverage costs by an average of $800, contributed to a record-low rate of uninsured Americans, and especially helped small businesses, rural residents, and older adults.
Voters’ views on health care align with Trump–Vance campaign’s promise to lower prices: Will they deliver?
Rising costs were the main drivers of the 2024 election and voters expect the Trump–Vance administration to address them. Unpopular and extreme positions on abortion bans and repealing the ACA are not on the American people’s agenda for the next four years. They want to see their government give them some room to breathe financially and focus on the things that keep them up at night, not play politics with their health care. The incoming administration has “concepts of a plan.” If their actual plan does not deliver these specific, concrete results, voters may hold the incumbent administration accountable.
Tags: affordable care act, affordable care, health equity, health coverage
New Poll Shows Americans Want Trump to Focus on Health Care Costs, Not Extreme Campaign Promises
The 2024 election results all but guarantee a slew of major changes to our health care policy in the United States. President-elect Donald Trump spent much of his first term trying and failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and then, on the presidential debate stage, falsely claimed to have saved the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while his vice president talked about repealing protections for people with pre-existing conditions. The president-elect urged his new nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to “go wild on health care.”1
While the Trump health care agenda is murky, the American people are clear about the health care agenda they’d like to see. In a new poll with Morning Consult, The Century Foundation found that even in a deeply divided country, there are a few things Americans do agree on when it comes to health care.
Nearly all Americans want protections for people with pre-existing conditions
In our survey, a staggering 88 percent of Americans thought that maintaining protections for people with pre-existing health conditions should be a “top priority” or an “important priority” for the Trump–Vance administration. Ensuring that the more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing health conditions can’t be denied coverage or price gouged by insurance companies was a cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act.
FIGURE 1
Yet, vice-president-elect Vance argued against this approach to including all people in the same coverage, no matter their health status, in September. Evidence shows that even well-funded efforts to cover people with pre-existing conditions in separate high-risk pools have failed.
A nationwide abortion ban should not be on the table
When asked, Americans felt strongly that a nationwide abortion ban should not be a priority for the Trump–Vance administration at all. Fully half of Americans said that a national abortion ban should not be a priority, while less than a quarter (24 percent) of Americans felt it was an important or top priority. Importantly, 74 percent of independents said it should not be a priority at all or not too important a priority, as did the 64 percent of voters for whom health policy was a major consideration when voting.
The vice president-elect ran a campaign for Senate two years ago on a platform of a national abortion ban and the president-elect bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade. That said, only a third (33 percent) of Republicans think it is very or somewhat likely that a national abortion ban would be signed into law in the Trump presidency.
Americans want lower costs when it comes to their health care
Across the board, Americans of all demographics wanted the Trump–Vance administration to pursue policies that lower costs for Americans. For example, 81 percent of voters want the $35 a month cap on insulin for Medicare enrollees passed in the Inflation Reduction Act expanded to all Americans, including 85 percent of seniors, 84 percent of Democrats, and 77 percent of Republicans. When it comes to prescription drug prices, a large bipartisan majority also wants to build on the Inflation Reduction Act and increase the number of drugs that the government can negotiate prices on.
FIGURE 2
When it comes to expanding coverage for in vitro fertilization—something President-elect Trump promised to do on the campaign trail—59 percent of voters said it should be a top or important priority, including 63 percent of women under age 45.
Lastly on costs, Congress would be wise to prevent a reduction scheduled in a little more than a year of tax credits that are currently lowering coverage costs for over 20 million Americans: 84 percent of voters—a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—say preventing health insurance premiums from rising when those tax credits expire is a top or important priority. As our analysis explained, this policy lowered health coverage costs by an average of $800, contributed to a record-low rate of uninsured Americans, and especially helped small businesses, rural residents, and older adults.
Voters’ views on health care align with Trump–Vance campaign’s promise to lower prices: Will they deliver?
Rising costs were the main drivers of the 2024 election and voters expect the Trump–Vance administration to address them. Unpopular and extreme positions on abortion bans and repealing the ACA are not on the American people’s agenda for the next four years. They want to see their government give them some room to breathe financially and focus on the things that keep them up at night, not play politics with their health care. The incoming administration has “concepts of a plan.” If their actual plan does not deliver these specific, concrete results, voters may hold the incumbent administration accountable.
Notes
Tags: affordable care act, affordable care, health equity, health coverage