Most voters (53 percent) support "Medicare for All" by name, but that enthusiasm wanes when they're given a description of the trade-offs the single-payer plan would require, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation "Health Tracking Poll."
Support for Medicare for All was highest (54 percent of the public) when described as a system that would "eliminate private health insurance, but allow people to choose their doctors, hospitals and other medical providers."
When pollsters described Medicare for All as requiring a tax increase for employers and some individuals, with the trade-off of eliminating premiums and deductibles, support dropped to 48 percent.
Support dropped slightly more, to 47 percent, when Medicare for All was described as requiring a personal tax increase, offset by a decrease in overall healthcare costs.
Democratic voters, who support the single-payer plan significantly more than their Republican counterparts, remain highly interested in healthcare over other issues. The largest proportion of Democratic voters (24 percent) wanted to hear candidates discuss healthcare in the Nov. 20 debate, according to the poll.
The poll was conducted Nov. 7-12 among 1,205 adults over age 18.
Read the full results here.
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