Americans mixed on potential Trump healthcare priorities: KFF poll

Dive Brief:

• Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act are popular with a large swath of Americans, potentially setting up a public opinion clash if the Trump administration makes cuts or changes to the government health programs, according to a poll published last week by KFF.
• About half of survey respondents said the nation wasn’t spending enough on Medicare and Medicaid, according to the health policy research firm. And, though views on the future of the ACA are divided on partisan lines, most Americans are worried about the level of benefits on marketplace plans.
• Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers have signaled Medicaid could be on the chopping block as the new administration looks to cut government spending. Additionally, President Donald Trump reversed a Biden-era executive order this week that aimed to boost enrollment and funding for ACA exchanges. 

Dive Insight:

The American public is sending some mixed messages on how they prioritize potential healthcare policies associated with the Trump administration, according to the KFF poll, which surveyed more than 1,300 people earlier this month.

Poll respondents were divided on policies regarding processed foods and vaccines. Trump’s pick for HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has previously advocated for banning certain processed foods and has promoted conspiracy theories about the safety of vaccines. 

Nearly 60% of respondents said setting stricter limits on chemicals in the nation’s food supplies should be a top focus for Congress and the new administration.

But the public is less interested in other potential policies. Less than one in eight respondents — and less than a quarter of Republicans — said it should be a top priority to reduce federal funding to schools that require vaccinations. 

Other policy areas are even less clear. For example, 23% of survey respondents said the administration should prioritize recommending against fluoride in local water supplies, while the same proportion argued that shouldn’t be done. Kennedy has also pushed for removing fluoride, a mineral that can prevent tooth decay, from water.

In contrast, top priorities for poll respondents include more closely regulating insurance approvals and denials, an issue that became a flashpoint online after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December.

Additionally, more than 60% said boosting healthcare price transparency should be a top priority. Regulations that required hospitals to post information about their prices were passed under the first Trump administration, in an attempt to help patients find more affordable healthcare services.

However, many facilities still aren’t fully complying with the rules, which first went into effect in 2021, according to a report published in November by the HHS’ Office of Inspector General.

Respondents were divided among partisan lines on the future of the ACA.

For example, while nearly two-thirds said they view the ACA favorably, polled Republicans and Democrats have different views of the decade-old law. Four in ten Republican respondents said repealing the ACA should be a top priority, while half of Democrats said the administration should focus on extending enhanced subsidies for exchange plans, which are set to expire at the end of 2025.

The more generous subsidies will be a significant policy question for Congress this year. Some Republican lawmakers have argued the enhanced financial assistance is too expensive and creates opportunities for fraud. However, there could be political consequences for letting the subsidies expire, given premium costs might increase for constituents — including those that live in Republican districts, experts say.