Majority of Americans Oppose Cuts to Medicare

The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation recently conducted a poll of both Democrats and Republicans and found that the majority of people, regardless of party affiliation, oppose cuts to Medicare and Social Security.

When asked about national economic issues that are most worrisome, 44 percent of those polled responded that the cost of health care is either the most or second-most worrisome issue. However, most people—77 percent of those polled—oppose cutting Medicare to reduce the nation’s budget deficit.

Additionally, 58 percent of people believe Medicare should remain the program it is today, guaranteeing core benefits, rather than be converted to a premium support model as proposed by Congressman and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. The Ryan proposal would end Medicare as we know it, providing beneficiaries with a government-issued voucher to purchase private insurance. Analysis shows that the amount of the voucher would be unlikely to keep pace with rising health care costs. Thus, over time, out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare beneficiaries would increase. Estimates suggest that the Ryan premium support model could cost beneficiaries an additional $6,400 per year. People with Medicare are in no position to pay more for health care: half of all Medicare beneficiaries have annual incomes below $22,000, and they already spend, on average, 15 percent of their incomes on health care.