The June Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds a plurality of Americans (45%) say they would support minor reductions to current levels of Medicare spending, but fewer than one in five (18%) support major reductions for this purpose. As the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination gets underway, the economy and jobs dominate the list of issues voters say they want to hear about from candidates (60%), with health care ranking a distant second (26%).

In his latest column, the Kaiser Family Foundation's President and CEO Drew Altman discusses a new way of thinking about why the public reacts as it does to proposals to change big programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which he calls the "multiplier effect."

The May poll reports most Americans oppose converting Medicaid to a block grant in order to reduce the federal deficit, and more than half want to see no reductions at all in Medicaid spending. 

This data note looks at five recent polls on the "Path to Prosperity" budget plan to change Medicare from a defined benefit program into one in which the government pays a specific amount towards the cost of private health insurance for each enrollee and explores how specific question wording might be contributing to differences in the results.

With Medicaid being the focus of federal and state debate on deficits, the Kaiser Family Foundation's President and CEO examines a recent poll finding about the program's popularity that may be a surprise considering the current discussion.

Six months since the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and a month and a half before the midterm congressional elections, Kaiser's September Health Tracking Poll finds the public remains divided on the new law. Public confusion over the health law has risen to its highest point since April.

The August Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that public support for health reform fell over the past month, dipping from a 50 percent favorability rating in July to 43 percent in August, while 45 percent reported unfavorable views. The dip in favorability returned public opinion on the new law to the even split last seen in May before a modest uptick in support in June and July.

In his latest column, the Kaiser Family Foundation's President and CEO takes a closer look at the views of seniors about the health reform law.

The July Kaiser Health Tracking Poll indicates overall public support for the health reform law is steady from June, while unfavorable views of the law have trended downward. The poll also took a closer look at the views of seniors.

The June survey finds Americans remain divided on the health reform law, even as favorable views of the new law increased seven percentage points over the past month to 48 percent, compared to 41 percent who have “generally unfavorable” views and 10 percent who have yet to make up their minds.