Through the Frames: Public Opinion on Medicare-For-All

In the midst of a once in a lifetime global pandemic and the concurring 2020 elections, proponents of Medicare-For-All are offering a solution to the crises at hand: public opinion research reveals that Americans worry a great deal about healthcare access and affordability, and the public are becoming both increasingly dissatisfied with the current system and increasingly convinced that it is the responsibility of the government to provide healthcare. But Medicare-For-All currently stands on a public opinion precipice. While the public appears open to consideration of a full universal healthcare system, consensus is deeply contingent upon issue framing. I researched recent Medicare-For-All polling, framing variations, and their impact on public opinion in a quantitative and sociopolitical analysis concluding that framing Medicare-For-All as a single-payer system or “socialized healthcare” is detrimental whereas framing it as an expansion of Medicare, a national system run by the government, and/or an universal and egalitarian system goes a long way to securing majority public support across party and ideological lines. Before Medicare-For-All can be legislated, its first battle is on the field of public opinion and its proponents can win through the frames