Poll finds public support for expanding Medicaid program

MENLO PARK, Calif., July 31, 2012—A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation on the Supreme Court’s health care reform ruling found that a majority of Americans support expansion of the nation’s Medicaid program for low-income people. The court ruled that expansion of eligibility as mandated by the Affordable Care Act was coercive and unconstitutional. That opened the door for states to opt out of the expansion, which would have increased beneficiaries by 16 million. The public opinion poll found that 67 percent of Americans support the concept of expanding Medicaid, and 30 percent oppose it. The poll measured public opinion on many facets of the health care reform ruling, and is available on the foundation’s website.