Single-Payer System Lacks Support

Colorado voters in November will decide on an initiative creating a statewide single-payer health care system. Its advocates endorse Obamacare and Bernie Sanders’ universal coverage. They believe Obamacare has left gaps that a single-payer system can best fill.

Much of the state’s Democratic establishment, led by Governor Hickenlooper, a Clinton Super Delegate, believes Obamacare should be improved, not overturned with a hugely expensive single-payer system ($25 billion annually is listed in the initiative title).

Frank Newport of Gallup wrote a recent analysis of the level of support for a government-run system vs. a private system, and government lost with 40 percent to 55 percent for a private system.

Other data points reinforce the challenge the concept faces in November:

• Barely a majority of the public accepts that government has responsibility for Americans’ health care coverage (51% yes to 47% no).
• The public in general is positive about their coverage, but the public is very polarized in its support and opposition to Obamacare (a plurality driven by most Republicans who oppose it).

The public views on single-payer system are not well-formed. They tend to like the idea of “Medicare for all,” which is how Sanders bills it, but, in general, they don’t like the government expansion into health care and the cost.

See The Buzz: Single-Payer Divides Democratic Party – Colorado Public Radio, John Daley