With Republicans in Congress considering a major Medicaid cut, most voters don't want to see fundraising for public health plans, according to a poll released Friday by KFF, a nonpartisan health research firm.
Only 17% of respondents said they support cutting Medicaid, the government's health insurance program that covers more than 70 million people. 40% said they wanted to continue changing the changes, while 42% said they wanted to increase it.
But at the same time, polls found important support for certain policies that restrict the program, such as requiring subscribers to function. Over 60% of votes, and 47% of Democrats, supported the work requirements, polls found.
The change, which has been defended by some Congressional Republicans, is estimated to cut around $100 billion from Medicaid. The program cost $584 million in 2024, or about 8% of total federal spending.
The vote also shows a wide range of Medicaid, with over half of respondents saying they had Medicaid compensation at some point, either them or their families. There is an almost universal consensus that Medicaid is important to voters' communities, with 98% of Democrats and 94% of Republicans saying they think it's somewhat or very important.
Congressional Republicans are considering several changes to Medicaid as they are looking for ways to pay for President Trump's tax cuts. Last month, the House passed a budget that, if approved by the Senate and signed by the president, could cut up to $880 billion from the program over the next decade. That can happen by reducing work requirements, federal spending caps on programs, or the percentage of costs the federal government pays.
Poll respondents generally supported job requirements, but they were misunderstood about policy. 62% of voters thought most Medicaid enrollees were unemployed.
Republican voters also expressed openness to cutting funding for the Affordable Care Act expansion. Currently, the federal government pays 90% of the cost to participants in the expansion who tend to become healthy adults. This is a higher share than other subscribers cover, such as children and disabled people.
64% of Republican voters and 40% of voters said they support reducing the federal government's contribution to Medicaid expansion. Speaker Mike Johnson said last week it wasn't on the table, but House Republicans continue to weigh the option.
However, voters' opinions on cutting Medicaid expansion funds appeared to be adaptable in the face of additional information.
Republican support fell to 43% when respondents were given more information about the policy, including the fact that millions could lose compensation. However, the change has increased support to 73% when it is said that federal spending will increase by about $600 billion.
The polls resemble what Americans felt when they abolished the 2017 debate, in which Republicans were unable to roll back the law because Americans were politically opposed to Medicaid cuts. At the time, 70% of voters supported labor requirements, while 36% supported cutting funds for Medicaid expansion.
“Medicaid is a very popular program among the public, including Republicans,” says Morian Brody, executive director of KFF's research study.
However, she added: “Opinions can move quickly in the context of discussion where people learn more and feel that the press is being threatened.”
