Majority of Iowans want health care option that isn’t ‘Medicare for All’: poll

A majority of Iowans who will likely attend the state’s 2020 Democratic caucuses want a health care option other than “Medicare for All,” a new poll finds.

More than a third of Democratic respondents in a CNN-Des Moines Register-Mediacom poll — 36 percent — support Medicare for All, but nearly as many others — 34 percent — want a public option to buy into, CNN reports.

Another 20 percent want to restore old provisions from the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Combined, 54 percent — more than half of respondents — want a health care option that is not Medicare for All, CNN noted.

The likely caucusgoers who support progressive Democratic presidential candidates advocating for Medicare for All, particularly Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), are slightly more likely to support the proposal than those who support other 2020 Democrats, according to the news network.

Supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg are more interested in a public option, the pollsters found.

Whether a likely caucus attendee supports Medicare for All also tends to depend on age, with those over 65 most interested in restoring lost ACA provisions or creating a public option.

Health care has proven to be a focal point among Democrats ahead of the 2020 primaries, with the party’s White House hopefuls divided on how to structure the U.S. health care system.

The poll was conducted between Nov. 8 and Nov. 13 and surveyed 500 likely Democratic caucusgoers. It has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.