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NEW POLL: Health Care Is A Top Issue in Arizona Senate Race

In A New Poll Released Ahead of Reps. Kyrsten Sinema and Martha McSally’s Senate Debate Tonight Finds Health Care a Top Issue for Majority of Voters, and Strong Opposition to Repeal of ACA and Pre-existing Conditions Protections

 

Washington, DC – Ahead of tonight’s debate between U.S. Representatives Kyrsten Sinema (D) and Martha McSally (R) in Phoenix, Arizona, a new poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) for Protect Our Care is the latest to show health care is a top issue for voters. Building upon today’s bombshell AP story about the heat McSally is getting on the campaign trail for her votes to repeal health care and gut pre-existing conditions protections, the poll also shows that Arizonans strongly oppose Republican health care agenda across the board. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement ahead of the debate:

 

“Martha McSally has had a bull’s eye on Arizonans’ health care her whole career, and a promotion to the Senate could make her the deciding vote to rip away protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, heart disease or cancer. But as this poll shows, the more Arizonans learn about her repeal-and-sabotage record, the more likely they will be to vote for her opponent and a real health care champion, Kyrsten Sinema.”

 

Key Findings from the Protect Our Care Public Policy Polling survey of Arizona Voters:

  • Forty percent of voters say health care is very important when deciding who to vote for in the US Senate election
  • Sixty-six percent of voters have a “major concern” with efforts to eliminate protections for people who have pre-existing medical conditions.
  • Forty-seven percent of women say health care is very important when deciding who to vote for in the US Senate election
  • Sixty-four percent of women and fifty-four percent of men say they want to keep what works and fix what doesn’t in the health care law
  • Fifty percent of voters oppose Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act
  • Sixty-three percent of voters have a “major concern” with Martha McSally’s support for repealing the Affordable Care Act
  • Fifty-nine percent of voters oppose the Trump’s Administration’s lawsuit strike down the healthcare law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions


Public Policy Polling surveyed 726 Arizona voters on October 12-13, 2018.  The margin of error for the poll is +/- 3.6%. This poll was conducted using automated telephone interviews on behalf of Protect Our Care.

 

What would full repeal of the Affordable Care Act eliminate?

  • Protections for 2,763,200 Arizonans with pre-existing conditions, if they buy coverage on their own
  • Improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs for prescription drugs
  • Allowing kids to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26
  • Ban on annual and lifetime limits
  • Ban on insurance discrimination against women
  • Limit on out-of-pocket costs
  • Medicaid expansion currently covering 425,800 Arizonans

 

2012:  McSally Supported Repealing The ACA: “A Vote For Obamacare Is A Vote Against Small Business And A Vote Against Fiscal Responsibility.”  “The United States House of Representatives today passed the Repeal of Obamacare Act, 244-185, with bi-partisan support.  Arizona’s 8th Congressional District Representative and candidate in the newly drawn 2nd District, Ron Barber, voted against the Act and in support of Obamacare.   ‘Mr. Barber’s vote to save Obamacare is example number 1 of why he needs to be replaced in Congress. Obamacare is costing Americans jobs and driving up our debt. Ron Barber has only been in Washington for 3 weeks and has already become part of the problem. A vote for Obamacare is a vote against small businesses and a vote against fiscal responsibility.'” [Martha McSally for Congress Press Release, 7/11/12]

 

2015:  McSally Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA.  McSally voted for HR 596, an act “to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.”  The bill also ordered House committees to develop a replacement that would “provide people with pre-existing conditions access to affordable health coverage,” but provided no specifics. [HR 596, Roll Call Vote #58, 2/3/15]

 

2017: McSally Voted For AHCA, Which Was a Vote AGAINST Pre-existing Conditions Protections.   [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #256, 5/4/17]

 

The American Health Care Act weakens key protections of the Affordable Care Act by allowing states to let insurers charge people with pre-existing conditions more, among other provisions. The bill would also make it more likely insurers would cherrypick young and healthier people, causing costs to skyrocket for older, sicker people.

 

The American Health Care Act allowed states to eliminate community rating, meaning insurers would be able to charge people with pre-existing conditions more. This surcharge could be in the tens of thousands of dollars and even six figures: up to $4,270 for asthma, $17,060 for pregnancy, $26,180 for rheumatoid arthritis and $140,510 for metastatic cancer.

 

  • McSally Encouraged Her GOP Colleagues To “Get This F——g Thing Done” And Repeal The ACA.  “Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and his GOP leadership team held what amounted to a pep rally for rank-and-file members in the Capitol basement Thursday morning as they predicted victory in their push to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Leaders played the ‘Rocky’ theme song as lawmakers walked into the meeting. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) put an image of George S. Patton on the screen and read inspirational quotes from the general. ‘Let’s get this f–king thing done!’ Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) told her colleagues, according to sources in the room.” [The Hill, 5/4/17]

 

 

New Poll: Health Care Is A Top Issue For North Dakotans

New poll released ahead of Protect Our Care’s “Care Force One” Bus Tour Rolling Into Fargo and Bismarck

Six in 10 Voters Disapprove Of Cramer’s Vote to Repeal Health Care and Revive Age Tax

Sixty Percent of Voters Oppose Trump Administration’s Lawsuit To Gut Pre-existing Conditions Protections and Cramer’s Support for Health Repeal

 

Washington DC — Ahead of the ‘Care Force One’ bus tour stops on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 in Fargo and Bismarck, a new poll by Change Research for Protect Our Care shows sixty percent of voters strongly oppose the Trump-GOP lawsuit to eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions and fifty-two percent say health care is very important to them in the midterms. This poll shows danger ahead for Kevin Cramer, who has voted repeatedly to repeal health care for North Dakotans and served as one of the biggest cheerleaders of the Trump Administration’s lawsuit to end protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care issued the following statement upon the poll’s findings:

 

“Kevin Cramer thinks he can hide his shameful record on health care from the public, but he can’t: From his support of the Trump-GOP lawsuit that would eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions to ads that flat-out lie about his record, Cramer has done absolutely nothing to help North Dakotans have quality and affordable health care — and worse, he’s taken many steps to harm them. For years, Cramer has voted to repeal our care and give insurance companies the power to deny or drop coverage, or charge more because of a pre-existing condition or a person’s age. By putting big insurance companies ahead of working North Dakota families, Kevin Cramer has not earned a promotion to the Senate.”

 

Key Findings from the Protect Our Care-Change Research survey of North Dakota Voters:

  • Sixty percent of voters oppose the Trump Administration’s lawsuit to eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions, while only twenty-nine percent support
  • Fifty-two percent of voters say health care is very important when deciding their vote for the U.S. Senate
  • Sixty-one percent of voters have a major concern with Cramer’s vote to repeal the ACA and allow insurance companies to charge an age tax for people 50 and older.
  • Fifty-three percent of voters have a major concern with Cramer’s vote to repeal the ACA and undermine protections for people with pre-existing condition

This poll surveyed 967 registered voters online in North Dakota on October 3, 2018 using Change Research’s bias correct engine. The margin of error is +/- 3.15% and the post-stratification was done on age, gender, ethnicity, and 2016 presidential vote.

Health Care Repeal in North Dakota would mean the elimination of:

    • Protections for 316,000 North Dakotans with pre-existing conditions
    • Improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs for prescription drugs
    • Allowing kids to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26
    • Ban on annual and lifetime limits
    • Ban on insurance discrimination against women
    • Medicaid expansion currently covering 21,400 North Dakotans
    • Marketplace tax credits and coverage for up to 20,000 North Dakotans.

 

Kevin Cramer Repeatedly Voted to Eliminate Repeal Health Care Protections for People Over Age 50 and People with Pre-existing Conditions

2013:  Cramer Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA.  Cramer voted for HR 45, an act “to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.” [HR 45, Roll Call Vote #154, 5/16/13]

2015:  Cramer Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA.  Cramer voted for HR 596, an act “to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.”  The bill also ordered House committees to develop a replacement that would “provide people with pre-existing conditions access to affordable health coverage,” but provided no specifics. [HR 596, Roll Call Vote #58, 2/3/15]

 

  • Cramer Said The Bill Would “Repeal The Affordable Care Act In Its Entirety.” “Today Congressman Kevin Cramer voted with the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety.” [Cramer Website, 2/3/15]

 

2017: Cramer Voted For AHCA.  Cramer voted for passage of the American Health Care Act.  [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #256, 5/4/17]

 

Cramer supports the Trump Administration’s lawsuit to roll back coverage for people with pre-existing conditions

Kevin Cramer vigorously supports the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back coverage for people with pre-existing conditions via a lawsuit that would eliminate the protections for pre-existing conditions that exist in the ACA.  

Cramer is now doubling down on his support for the AHCA last year, a bill which would have allowed insurance companies to go back to charging people with pre-existing conditions “prohibitively high premiums.”  

Cramer’s support for these measures puts the health of the 316,000 North Dakotans living with a pre-existing condition at risk and would take us back to the days when insurers routinely denied coverage or charged unaffordable premiums to people with pre-existing conditions, including cancer, asthma and hypertension.

 

 

Yet Another Poll Confirms The Overwhelming Majority Of Americans Support Protections For People With Pre-Existing Conditions and Trust Democrats More than Republicans on the Issue

More Evidence that Health Care is The Issue in 2018

Washington, D.C. – This morning, a new Morning Consult/POLITICO poll was released, finding that 81 percent of voters say it should not be legal for insurance companies to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, and 71 percent saying it should not be legal for insurance companies to charge more for people with pre-existing conditions. The findings are only the latest to find that voters strongly oppose the Trump-GOP war on health care. In response to the poll, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:

“Overwhelming majorities of voters believe insurance companies should not be allowed to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, but that’s exactly what Republicans in Congress voted for, what the Trump-backed lawsuit would do, and what numerous health insurance regulations enacted by the Trump Administration allow. Here’s yet another poll showing Republicans are in hot water because of their own deeply unpopular war on health care.”

Among the new Morning Consult/POLITICO poll’s findings:

  • 81 percent of voters say it should not be legal for insurance companies to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, and 71 percent say it should not be legal for insurance companies to charge more for people with pre-existing conditions;
  • On the question of pre-existing conditions, voters trust Democrats in Congress over Republicans in Congress by 22 points (42-20), including by 17 points among voters aged 65 and older (41-24);
  • Voters trust Democrats in Congress over Republicans in Congress on health care by 15 points (46-31) including by 18 points (41-23) with independent men and 11 points (31-20) with independent women, and
  • While Trump’s overall job approval is -15 (41-56), among people who say health care is their number one issue it falls to -43 (27-70).

The Morning Consult/POLITICO poll is the Latest Evidence that Health Care Will be a Major Liability for Republicans:

  • Kaiser Tracking Poll Finds Health Care To Be A Top Issue For Voters.  The poll found that 81 percent of voters consider health care to be either the most important or a very important issue for 2018 candidates to talk about. The next highest vote earner, corruption in Washington, was considered the most or a very important issue by 77 percent of those surveyed. (September 2018)
  • Fox News Poll Finds Majority Of Americans Hold Favorable Opinion Of Affordable Care Act. The poll found that 51 percent of voters held favorable views the Affordable Care Act, compared to only 40 percent who held favorable views of the Republican tax bill. (August 2018)
  • NBC News/ Wall Street Journal Survey Finds Democrats Have 18 Point Advantage In Dealing With Health Care. The survey found that 45 percent of voters polled think democrats would do a better job dealing with health care, compared to only 27 percent of voters who say Republicans would do a better job. (August 2018)
  • Kaiser Tracking Poll Finds Almost Six In Ten Americans Say They Think President Trump And His Administration Are Trying To Make The ACA Fail, Most Say This Is A Bad Thing. “Almost six in ten (56 percent) Americans say they think President Trump and his administration are trying to make the ACA fail while one-third (32 percent) say they are trying to make the law work. Most of those who say they think the Trump administration is trying to make the law fail think this is a “bad thing” (47 percent of the public). In addition, most (58 percent) say since President Trump and Republicans in Congress have made changes to the ACA, they are responsible for any problems with it moving forward.” [Kaiser Family Foundation (July 2018)
  • Kaiser Tracking Poll Finds A Candidates’ Continued Support For Protections For People With Pre-Existing Conditions Is The Single Most Important Health Position For Voters. Fourteen percent of voters said cited protections for people with pre-existing conditions as the most important factor. Sixty-six percent of voters said it was very important, if not the most important, health care issue to them. (June 2018)

PPP Poll: One Year After Senate Defeated Trump’s Healthcare Repeal, Majority of Voters Oppose Republican Repealers

From: Anniken Williams, Public Policy Polling

To: Interested Parties

Subject: One Year After Senate Defeated Trump’s Healthcare Repeal, Majority of Voters Oppose Republican Repealers

Date: July 23, 2018

On the one-year anniversary of bipartisan Senate defeat of Trump’s health care repeal, a new Public Policy Polling survey finds that a majority of voters want to support candidates for Congress who oppose repealing the Affordable Care Act.

A majority of voters (56/40) support a generic Democrat for Congress who supports the ACA and wants to improve it, over a generic Republican candidate for Congress who wants to repeal it. This lead expands to 19 points (56/37) with voters over the age of 65.

  • Voters trust Democrats over Republicans and President Trump on health care by 13 points (55/42). This lead grows to 26 points (60/34) with women and 22 points (57/35) with independents.

By an overwhelming 25 points (59/34), people want Congress to “keep what works and fix what doesn’t” in the ACA, not repeal it. That margin grows to 32 points (62/30) with independents.

64% of voters oppose the Trump administration joining the lawsuit (Texas V. U.S.) which would strike down ACA’s protections of health care for people with pre-existing conditions. Only 19% of voters support joining the lawsuit.

  • When voters learn that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh would likely support that Trump administration lawsuit, 56% are less likely to support his confirmation.

PPP surveyed 514 registered voters from July 18-19, 2018.  The margin of error is +/- 4.3%. This poll was conducted by automated telephone interviews.

View the full poll here.

Four Studies, Three Polls, One Conclusion: Americans Support the ACA, Are Fed Up With Trump’s Sabotage

It’s been a busy week for health care. Three polls – from CNN, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and then President Trump’s very own America First Policies – came out, all of which had similar and striking conclusions. Four studies – from the Urban Institute, Avalere, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Commonwealth Fund – also came out, and too came to a similar conclusion. What did the analyses of the week show?

WHAT THE POLLS FOUND: ACA MORE POPULAR THAN EVER, VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY OPPOSE ADMINISTRATION POLICIES

Last night, a new poll from President Trump’s own organization, America First Policies, confirmed that health care is the top issue to voters – and they don’t support the Trump Administration’s repeal and sabotage agenda. Trump’s polling found:

  • By 17 points, voters DISAPPROVE of Trump’s “handling of health care” with only 38% approving (16% strongly) and 55% disapproving (44% strongly).
  • A plurality of voters (41%) said the top priority for the President and Congress should be lowering health care costs.
  • Among those 41% who name lowering health care costs a the top priority, 68% want Congress to leave the ACA as is or work to fix it. Only 31% support the GOP repeal agenda.  

The America First poll followed the earlier release of the Kaiser February tracking poll, which found 54% of those surveyed holding a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act, the highest proportion supporting the ACA in the nine years the poll has been conducted. The poll also found:

  • The ACA favorable view rose from 50 percent in January 2018 to 54 percent this month, a change “largely driven by independents.
  • More than twice as many voters mention health care costs (22 percent) as mention repealing/opposing the ACA (7 percent) as the top health care issue.
  • 74% of those surveyed had a favorable opinion of Medicaid, while 52% believed the Medicaid program is working well for most low-income people covered by the program.
  • 64% of independents oppose lifetime limits for Medicaid benefits.
  • A larger share of the public believes the proposed Medicaid changes are to reduce government spending (41 percent) than to help lift people out of poverty (33 percent).

And both of these followed a Tuesday CNN poll which found health care remains voters’ top priority, with 83% of those surveyed listing it as either extremely or very important. Other findings included:

  • 53% of voters said health care was extremely important, the highest among all issues – a 20% increase from the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in August of 2010, when health care supposedly dominated the midterm elections.
  • 78% of independent voters said health care was important, which tied with the economy as their top issue.
  • At least 70% of voters in every demographic category said health care was important – a trend that stretches across gender, age, income level, education level, ideology, and party affiliation.

Americans support the Affordable Care Act because it works to bring down costs, expand coverage, and protect the most vulnerable among us. They oppose the GOP’s repeal and sabotage plan because it does the opposite. Four studies this week confirmed this.

WHAT THE STUDIES SHOW: COSTS UP, COVERAGE DOWN

Last week, the Trump Administration announced a proposal to move forward with short-term, junk insurance plans – the Administration’s latest form of sabotage.

  • On Monday, a bombshell Urban Institute study found that these short-term junk plans will cause an average premium increase of 18 percent in 43 states, making clear just how high the cost of the GOP’s sabotage efforts will be for Americans.

Last month, the Department of Labor proposed a rule promoting association health plans (AHPs).

  • On Wednesday, Avalere released a new study which found that this proposed rule would cause premiums for individual and small-group plans to rise 4% and reduce Affordable Care Act plans enrollment by as many as 4.3 million, further destabilizing the marketplace.

On Wednesday, President Trump hosted a White House summit to address the opioid crisis, just weeks after releasing a budget which called for vast cuts to Medicaid.

  • That day, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released an analysis showing that states which expanded Medicaid saw higher rates of insurance coverage for people with opioid-use disorders.

And throughout his time in office, President Trump and his GOP allies in Congress have been carrying out an extensive sabotage campaign designed to harm the ACA.

  • A new report from the Commonwealth Fund analyzed the effects on consumer confidence, finding that among those worried about maintaining their coverage in the future, “nearly half pointed to actions by the Trump administration and Congress as the main source of their unease.” Moreover, the report found that of the individuals who did not purchase insurance last year, 26 percent of those said they did not because they thought the law was going to be repealed, underscoring the effects this sabotage campaign has had.
  • The report did offer some steps to move forward: “As our findings suggest, policy changes could increase coverage, including greater outreach and advertising in all states and reforms to improve plan affordability.” The most specific suggestion: Medicaid expansion “remains the most obvious means for expanding coverage nationwide.”

All in all, Americans continued to make their voices heard loud and clear: they support the Affordable Care Act and want it to be improved and expanded, not undercut by a GOP sabotage effort from President Trump and Republicans in Congress. As for that sabotage effort? Study after study has found that its effects have been nothing short of disastrous for the American health care system. Will President Trump and Congressional Republicans ever get their act together on health care and finally embrace what the vast majority of Americans say they want? Well, there are a few polls they can read…

New Trump-Backed Poll: Health Care Is Top Issue, Voters Don’t Support Trump On It

This poll can’t be fake news.

A new poll from President Donald Trump’s own organization – America First Policies – confirms that health care is the top issue to voters and that voters don’t support the Trump Administration’s health care repeal and sabotage. Voters have figured out that Trump and Republicans in Congress are driving up health care costs already while putting coverage for pre-existing conditions at risk and, if successful in repeal, will drive costs up even more.

Trump’s polling showed…

1) By 17 points, voters DISAPPROVE of the Trump’s “handling of health care and health insurance” with only 38% approving (16% strongly) and 55% disapproving (44% strongly).

2) When asked what the President and Congress should focus on is lowering health care costs, a plurality of voters (41%) say it should be the top priority.

3) Among the 41% of voters who say lowering health care costs should be the top priority, 68% want Congress to either leave the Affordable Care Act as it is or work to fix it. Only 31% support the Republicans health care repeal agenda.  

This new polling, found by CNBC, comes to light the same week as polling from CNN that found health care was – by far – the most important issue to voters and the latest Kaiser Health Care tracking poll, which found the Affordable Care Act to be more popular than ever before.

Support for ACA Continues to Rise – Over 2/3 of Voters Want ACA Kept and Fixed, Not Repealed; Voters Oppose Tax Bill Killing ACA Mandate

From: Jim Williams, Public Policy Polling

To: Interested Parties

Subject: Support for ACA Continues to Rise – Over 2/3 of Voters Want ACA Kept and Fixed, Not Repealed; Voters Oppose Tax Bill Killing ACA Mandate    

Date: December 14, 2017

A new Public Policy Polling survey finds that approval of the Affordable Care Act continues to rise among voters, and nearly 7 in 10 want Congress to keep what works about the ACA and fix what doesn’t rather than repeal it and start over with a new healthcare law. Further, only 29% of voters say they support the Republican tax bill currently being debated in Congress after learning it includes a health care repeal that removes the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act.

Key findings from the survey include:

  • Voter approval of the Affordable Care Act continues to rise. 57% say they approval of the law compared to just 36% who say they disapprove – a 21 point gap. This is up 5 points from a September poll done for Save My Care where approval was 54/38.
  • Voters continue to strongly think that Congress should keep what works about the ACA and fix what doesn’t rather than repeal it and start over with a new healthcare law – voters say so by a 68/30 margin in this poll expanding to 71/26 among independents. That 38 point advantage is up from a 27 point advantage of 60/33 from an October poll done for Save My Care.
  • Just 29% of voters say they support the Republican tax bill currently being debated in Congress after learning it removes the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act.

PPP surveyed 585 registered voters nationally from December 12-13, 2017.  The margin of error is +/- 4.1%. This poll was conducted using automated telephone interviews for Protect Our Care.