A recently conducted Reuters poll found that the majority of Americans and more than half of all Republicans are in favor of Medicare for All, a publicly funded program available for people across the board. It's also known as a "single payer" system.
Here's how the data breaks down:
Democrats:
Support: 84.5%
Oppose: 10.7%
Don't know: 4.8%
Republicans:
Support: 51.9%
Oppose: 37.4%
Don't know: 10.7%
The poll was taken a year after Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the Medicare for All Act which would replace the current private healthcare system and move everyone over to the government-run healthcare system similar to what seniors have.
During a post-midterm strategy call hosted by National Nurses United, Sanders wasted to time touting the poll results as a reason to move forward with the bill.
"...we have got to end the international embarrassment of the U.S. being the only country on Earth that does not guarantee healthcare to all as a right," Sanders said on the call. "The really good news is that we are being attacked almost daily, and we should be proud of this...the reason they're going after us is that they read the same polls that I read. The last two polls I've seen have about 70% [supporting Medicare for All]."
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According to Our Revolution president Nina Turner, Medicare for All supporters are going to pressure Democrats to really get the ball moving on the bill.
"We're going to push the Democrats to do it. There is absolutely, unequivocally no excuse for the Democrats not to support Medicare for All," Turner said, calling the policy "a moral imperative."
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