Published by: Shawn Gremminger on 5/25/2011 11:44:45 AM
Just as things began to look really bleak for the Medicaid program, with lawmakers on Capitol Hill openly talking about massive cuts and powerful interests doing their best to protect the other two large entitlement programs (Medicare and Social Security), the Kaiser Family Foundation released a poll that provides us Medicaid advocates with a glimmer of hope.
To put it bluntly: People like Medicaid. And they don’t want it cut. According to Kaiser:
After hearing descriptions of the current program and proposed changes, six in ten would prefer to ‘keep Medicaid as is, with the federal government guaranteeing coverage and setting minimum standards for benefits and eligibility,’ while just over a third (35 percent) would prefer to ‘change Medicaid so that the federal government gives states a fixed amount of money and each state decides who to cover and what services to pay for.’
The partisan divide is stark (nearly four-out-of-five Democrats support maintaining the current program while more than half of Republicans support a block grant), but the all-important Independents are on “our” side: 60 percent of them would maintain the current Medicaid structure. Just slightly more than one-third would opt for a block grant.
But it gets even better. According to Kaiser, Medicaid isn’t unpopular with beneficiaries, despite what many lawmakers claim:
Among the 20 percent of adults who have personally ever received Medicaid benefits, the vast majority (86 percent) say that their overall experiences with the program have been positive, including nearly half (45= percent) who say they were “very” positive. This is very similar to ratings of their current health plan among those covered by private health insurance (89 percent positive, including 44 percent “very” positive).
Yesterday, a Democratic candidate won a special election in a heavily Republican House district in Upstate New York. If press reports are accurate, the race likely turned on the Republican candidate’s endorsement of the House-passed Budget Resolution – particularly the provision that would convert Medicare into a premium support or voucher program. This radical solution was so unpopular that it may have cost Republicans the seat. The message in the election outcome was clear: Cut Medicare at your peril.
Armed with the new Kaiser poll, the message to lawmakers is also clear. Cut Medicaid and your peril.