KFF poll: Americans oppose Medicaid cuts
Public attitudes toward Medicaid are remarkably positive, andopposition to cuts is reasonably strong, according to a new publicopinion survey released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation http://www.kff.org/medicaid/pomr062905pkg.cfm .
While two-thirds of the public think their state has major budgetproblems, a substantial majority are reluctant to cut Medicaid tobalance state budgets, and a majority think the federal governmentshould maintain (44 percent) or increase (36 percent) federal spendingon Medicaid; only 12 percent of the public prefer seeing federalfunding of Medicaid cut.
Attitudes Towards Medicaid
Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of adults say Medicaid is a”very important” government program, ranking it close to SocialSecurity (88 percent) and Medicare (83 percent) in the public’s mind,equal to federal aid to public schools (74 percent), and above defenseand military spending (57 percent). About 8 in 10 Democrats (82percent) and Independents (79 percent) view Medicaid as an importantgovernment program, while fewer, but still 6 in 10 Republicans (61percent) express that view.
A majority of Americans (56 percent) report having some interactionwith Medicaid, either having been enrolled themselves at some point (16percent) or knowing a friend or family member who has received healthcoverage or long-term care assistance through the program (40 percent).Additionally, if they needed health care and were eligible, nearly 8 in10 Americans (78 percent) say they would be willing to enroll inMedicaid. This view is consistent across different partyidentifications.