Poll: Plurality backs Bernie Sanders' single-payer health plan, until they hear side effects

More Americans support than oppose Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' proposal to replace America's current private health care system with "a single government-run and taxpayer-funded plan like Medicare for all Americans that would cover medical, dental, vision, and long-term care services," according to an Associated Press/GfK poll released Thursday. The 38 percent plurality that back Sanders' plan — 33 percent oppose it — shrinks, however, when the pollsters said it would raise taxes (28 percent support) and replace people's company-sponsored plans (also 28 percent). Backing shrank further when other possible downsides were raised.

"People say they believe in a principle, but when you describe the policy, it often loses support because they don't like that there are side effects," says Harvard health care analyst Robert Blendon. After hearing the caveats, "BernieCare" was about as popular as ObamaCare, approved of by only 26 percent of respondents. But health care was a top concern for voters, with 75 percent listing it as very important or extremely crucial, putting it ahead of foreign policy issues like ISIS and domestic ones like income inequality. The poll was conducted Feb. 11-15 among 1,033 adults, and has a margin of error of ±3.4 percentage points.

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