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FOX POLL: Dems hold 15 Point Advantage on Health Care, Health Care #1 Issue

New polls from the weekend give further evidence to the supercharged backlash against Republican for trying to repeal health care – gutting protections for pre-existing conditions and raising costs, especially for people over 50.

“Every poll shows that voters have uncovered the truth about the Republican health care repeal and they don’t like what they see,” said Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care. “Republicans can’t defend their indefensible plan to rip health care away from people with pre-existing conditions and raise costs, especially on seniors, while giving tax breaks to their insurance and drug company donors.”

A FOX News Poll Shows:

• Voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of health care by 14 points (39-53 percent). This margin grows to 24 points among independents (28-52 percent).
• When making their decision of who to vote for, voters say health care is their #1 issue (59 percent extremely important and 27 percent very important).
• By 15 points (49-34 percent), voters say Democrats are doing a better job on health care than Republicans. The lead grows to 16 points (51-35 percent) with likely voters and holds up at 12 points (48-36 percent) even with voters over 45 years old.
• For the first time in their survey since the Affordable Care Act passed, less than 40 percent believe the law went too far (only 37 percent). In fact, 54 percent believe either didn’t go far enough (31 percent) or was about right (23 percent).

A CBS Battleground Survey Shows:

• Seventy percent of voters in these battleground districts say health care will be a very important issue in their vote, just ahead of Supreme Court appointments (66 percent), immigration (63 percent), and gun policy (60 percent).
• Health care ranks number one on the list of “very important” issues to voters. Eighty-seven percent of Democrats say it is very important, as do 64 percent of independents.

Voters Disapprove of Republican Attacks on Pre-Existing Conditions and Incumbents’’ Pro-Repeal Record, Say They Want Affordable Care Act Improved Rather than Repealed, and Trust Democrats More Than Republicans With Their Health Care

Washington, DC – New Public Policy Polling (PPP) surveys commissioned by Protect Our Care find that health care may be a decisive issue for voters in the Minnesota battlegrounds of MN-02 and MN-03. Said Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, in response to the poll findings:

“If I’m Erik Paulsen and Jason Lewis, I’m sweating today because mounting evidence shows that voters know about, care about and fundamentally oppose the health care repeal-and-sabotage record of these Republican incumbents and their relentless attacks on Minnesotans with pre-existing conditions.”  

Key Findings from PPP-Protect Our Care Poll in MN-02

• Health care is a very important issue to voters when deciding who to vote for. 62% say it is either the most important issue or a very important issue when deciding who to vote for.
• Minnesotans are very concerned about the possible consequences of repealing the ACA. 62% of voters think charging people 50+ years old, five times more than younger people for health insurance is a major concern. Eliminating protections for people with pre-existing conditions is a major concern for 63% of voters.
• In a preview of the November election, Democrat Angie Craig holds a lead over Republican Jason Lewis, 48-45.

Key Findings from PPP-Protect Our Care Poll in MN-03

• Health care is a very important issue to voters when deciding who to vote for. 65% say it is either the most important issue or a very important issue when deciding who to vote for.
• Minnesotans are very concerned about the possible consequences of repealing the ACA. Two-thirds (66%) of voters think charging people 50+ years old, five times more than younger people for health insurance is a major concern. Eliminating protections for people with pre-existing conditions is a major concern for 67% of voters.
• In a preview of the November election, Democrat Dean Phillips holds a lead over Republican Erik Paulsen, 52-39.

The PPP-Protect Our Care Polls Mirror Data from Google Trends Showing that Searches for Health Care Dominate across the State — including in MN-02 and MN-03.

• In MN-03 between 63 percent of all issue searches were on health care; the next highest issue being immigration at 17 percent.
• In MN-02 health care was the top researched issue in every county.

Here’s how the PPP-Protect Our Care polls were covered locally:

MinnPost: Two Major Political Handicappers Find Minnesota’s Third District Slipping out of Erik Paulsen’s Grasp

A new poll conducted by Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling and commissioned by health care advocacy group Protect Our Care also shows Phillips with a sizable advantage over Paulsen. Phillips has a 13-point lead over Paulsen in that poll, notching 52 percent of support over Paulsen’s 39 percent among the 538 respondents in the poll.

The poll, which focused on voter attitudes about health care in CD2 and CD3, also found that 56 percent of those polled had an unfavorable view of Trump, and of GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act — both of which could influence the outcome in those key races.

WCCS Sunday Morning: Angie Craig Joins Esme Murphy In Studio

Esme Murphy, WCCS: One of the things I thought was interesting in that [PPP] poll…is the numbers of people that said health care is their number one concern and also the number of people that actually support the Affordable Care Act.  

Angie Craig, candidate for MN-02: Fifty-one percent of people in my district have a pre-existing condition, so if you’re not willing to stand up when you need to, then you need to stand down and let someone else take your place.

New Trump Administration Rule Would Keep Legal Immigrant  Families Away from Health Care and in the Shadows

Washington, DC – In its latest attack on health care, the Trump Administration announced a long-rumored proposal to change a decades-old immigration rule. The change would prevent legal immigrant families on the road to U.S. citizenship from being able to secure permanent lawful immigration status if they utilize a vast array of health care supports, such as Medicaid, nutrition assistance, or other services. The proposal, which is now subject to a comment period, would be disastrous for legal immigrants and their families, particularly children — and to cities, states, and our nation’s future — if it is adopted. In response to the Trump Administration’s proposed changes to the “public charge” rule, Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:

“As if ripping families apart at the border and putting children in cages wasn’t bad enough, the Trump administration is trying to use health care as a weapon against legal immigrants in America. This is yet another outrageous attack on health care in this country and the ability of immigrants to live their lives with dignity.”

To learn more about the Trump Administration’s proposed rule change, please visit www.protectimmigrantfamilies.org.

Voters Disapprove of Republican Incumbents’ Pro-Repeal Record, Say They Want Affordable Care Act Improved Rather than Repealed, and Trust Democrats More Than Republicans With Their Health Care

“The issue of health care could be [the] key to ousting the incumbent in this race,” says Florida Politics blog

Washington, DC – New Public Policy Polling surveys commissioned by Protect Our Care finds that health care may be a decisive issue for voters in the Florida battlegrounds of CD 18, CD 25 and CD 26.  Said Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, in response to the poll findings:

“Pro-repeal incumbents Brian Mast, Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Curbelo have a lot to be worried about. As these polls show, voters are angry at their efforts to repeal and sabotage American health care and they are getting ready to take that anger out at the polls.”  

Here’s how the polls were covered locally today:

Florida Politics: Lauren Baer Polling Within Three Points Of Brian Mast (FL-18). “When asked who they trust more to handle the issue of health care, 49 percent back Democrats and 46 percent say they favor Republicans and President Donald Trump. Only 4 percent are undecided. But when it came to their district, voters favored Democrats by a wider margin. A total of 49 percent of respondents say they would rather vote for a congressional candidate who is ‘a Democrat who supports the Affordable Care Act and wants to improve it.’ That compares to 44 percent who say they’d prefer ‘a Republican who wants to repeal’ the ACA.”

• Click here to view the memo from PPP for FL-18.

Florida Politics: Mary Barzee Flores Closing In On Mario Diaz-Balart, Poll Shows (FL-25). “49 percent say they trust Democrats more on the issue of health care. But 46 percent trust Republicans and President Donald Trump more. Only 4 percent were undecided. When asked about their votes going forward, 51 percent prefer ‘a Democrat who supports the Affordable Care Act and wants to improve it.’ That compares to 43 percent who’d rather vote for ‘a Republican who wants to repeal’ the ACA. Those numbers could bode well for the Democrats, who have signaled their desire to keep health care at the forefront of the 2018 midterms after Republicans’ failed attempt to repeal the ACA last year.”

• Click here to view the memo from PPP FL-25.

Florida Politics: Carlos Curbelo Trailing In Newest CD 26 Poll (FL-26). “A majority, 53 percent, say they support the ACA. Only 35 percent say they oppose it, while 12 percent are undecided. A whopping 57 percent say they trust Democrats more on the issue of health care, while 40 percent favor President Donald Trump and Republicans….A total of 57 percent say they’d prefer ‘a Democrat who supports the Affordable Care Act and wants to improve it.’ Just 38 percent want ‘a Republican who wants to repeal’ the ACA. The issue of health care could be Mucarsel-Powell’s key to ousting the incumbent in this race.”

• Click here to view the memo from PPP FL-26.

As he prepares to take the stage with Donald Trump tonight, today Josh Hawley earned a “mostly false” rating from Politifact Missouri on health care and the Kansas City Star lamented his misinformation campaign about his lawsuit to overturn pre-existing conditions protections for millions of Americans, including nearly 2.5 million Missourians.

Here are more whoppers Josh Hawley has told the people of Missouri in recent weeks:

1. Hawley Is Arguing Against Pre-Existing Condition Protections In Court, And Encouraging Consumers To Buy Association Health Plans That Can Discriminate Against People With Pre-Existing Conditions. Hawley claims that Sen. Claire McCaskill has chosen not to back reforms that would have covered pre-existing conditions, despite the fact that she voted against numerous bills last year that would have enabled insurance companies to once again charge people with pre-existing conditions more and opposes a lawsuit led by Hawley that would overturn these protections. At the same time, Hawley argues in favor of health plans that can discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. In contrast to ACA-compliant health plans which are required to provide essential health services and are prohibited from raising premiums when someone gets sick, association health plans are able to discriminate against consumers at their whim. They also have a history of fraud and unpaid claims.
2. Hawley Wants To Bring Missourians Back To When Insurance Companies Could Charge Women And Adults Over 50 More For Coverage. Hawley argues that we should eliminate “one-size-fits-all dictates” about what services, like maternity care and prostate exams, insurance plans need to cover. Eliminating these crucial consumer protections would take us back to before the Affordable Care Act, when insurance companies were allowed to charge women, people over 50, and people with pre-existing conditions more. Prior to the ACA, insurance companies charged women an estimated $1 billion more than men for the same health care plans, and 75 percent of individual market plans did not cover maternity care, 45 percent did not cover substance use disorder services, and 38 percent did not cover mental health services.
3. Hawley claims that “millions of Americans have lost their healthcare plans.” This claim, which Republicans have been repeating for years, has already been fact checked as misleading given that “far more have gained coverage than had their policies canceled.” The ACA ultimately helped 20 million Americans access coverage, including more than 240,000 Missourians who were able to purchase care through the marketplace.
4. Hawley pointed to premium increases as evidence of the ACA’s failure, but fails to mention that Republican sabotage is increasing premiums and costing consumers. In fact, experts say Republican efforts to sabotage the ACA are causing premiums continue to increase. A Brookings Institute analysis estimates that premiums would have decreased by 4.3 percent in 2019 if not for Republican efforts to sabotage the law.
5. Hawley claims that insurance companies are profiting thanks to “open-ended payments” from the federal government. However, the Affordable Care Act limits the amount of premiums that insurance companies can take as profit. The federal government does not send open-ended payments to insurance companies, instead it pays for a portion of low-income Americans’ premiums. Because of the ACA, 80 percent of premiums must be used to pay for actual health care costs rather than administrative expenses and overhead. Thanks to this requirement, Missouri insurance companies returned more than $13.7 million in rebates to consumers in 2016.
6. Hawley falsely alleges that Sen. McCaskill sides with big pharma, when Sen. McCaskill Is Fighting To Stop Drug Price Increases. However, Sen. McCaskill has not only commissioned reports on drug pricing and supported allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, but has also introduced numerous pieces of legislation aimed at lowering drug costs and preventing consumers from overpaying on prescription drugs.