I’ve posted a lot of diaries today from Public Policy Polling showing that health care is the big issue helping Democrats going into the midterm elections. Quinnipiac University’s latest poll confirms that:
2018 Mid-Term Elections
American voters disapprove 68 - 25 percent of the way Republicans in Congress are doing their job and disapprove 63 - 28 percent of Democrats in Congress.
Republicans are narrowing the gap with Democrats in the so-called generic ballot for the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate elections this year:
- 49 percent of voters want the Democratic Party to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives, as 43 percent want Republicans to control the House. Independent voters are divided as 44 percent back Democrats and 41 percent go Republican.
- Democrats should win control of the U.S. Senate, voters say by a narrow 49 - 43 percent. Independent voters are split with 44 percent for Democrats and 43 percent for Republicans.
Health care is the most important issue in the 2018 mid-term elections, 23 percent of American voters say, with 22 percent for the economy, 21 percent for gun policy and 19 percent for immigration.
From March 16 - 20, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,291 voters nationwide with a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percentage points, including the design effect. Live interviewers call landlines and cell phones.
And here’s proof Democrats are receiving that message:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced a bill Wednesday aimed at dramatically increasing the affordability and reliability of health insurance plans available on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
The legislation, called the Consumer Health Insurance Protection Act, would offer people buying health insurance on their own more financial assistance ― and allow more people to qualify for that assistance. Nobody would have to pay more than 8.5 percent of income on premiums.
But as Warren made clear in a January speech before the consumer group Families USA, she understands that enacting a single-payer plan would be difficult ― and that, as a result, private insurance probably won’t disappear overnight. And so she also wants to focus on what can be done right away to subject the industry to the type of stringent consumer protections she has already successfully championed in the financial sector.
“So long as private health insurance exists, we should require these companies to provide coverage that is at least as good and priced as reasonably as the coverage offered by our public health care programs,” Warren said in January.
Sanders is actually a co-sponsor of the Warren bill, as are Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.).
The consumer advocacy organizations Families USA, Public Citizen, Consumers Union and Community Catalyst have also endorsed Warren’s bill.
Democrats have a lot to run on but health care is the golden goose for success. Click here to call your Democratic Senator and tell them to get on board with Warren’s bill.
Let’s be sure to reward the Democrats running for re-election who are co-sponsors of this bill. Click below to donate and get involved with the Democratic co-sponsors running for re-election:
Tammy Baldwin
Kirsten Gillibrand
Bernie Sanders
Elizabeth Warren