The Trump administration came into office earlier this week with a promise of cutting down on government spending and driving greater efficiency, but a new poll from KFF shows voters largely support continued spending on Medicare and Medicaid.
KFF surveyed 1,310 U.S. adults in early January and found that 82% have a positive view of the Medicare program. In addition, 77% said they view Medicaid favorably, according to the poll. While there was some variation along partisan lines, a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents said they take a positive outlook on Medicare and Medicaid.
Support was highest among Democrats, with 90% viewing Medicare favorably and 87% viewing Medicaid favorably. Eighty-four percent of independents hold a favorable view of Medicare, and 81% look positively on Medicaid. For Republicans, 75% said they have a favorable view of Medicare and 63% said the same for Medicaid.
“Notably, both programs are also viewed favorably by a majority of voters who say they voted for President Trump in the 2024 election,” the KFF researchers wrote.
About half (51%) of those surveyed said they do not feel that the federal government spends enough on Medicare, with just 15% saying it spends too much. And 46% said not enough is spent on the Medicaid program, compared to 19% who say the feds spend too much.
Sixty percent of Democrats said the government does not spend enough on Medicare, as did 49% of independents and 43% of Republicans. For Medicaid, 62% of Democrats, 42% of independents and 32% of Republicans said the feds aren’t spending enough.
Beyond Medicare and Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was viewed positively by a majority of those surveyed, with 64% taking a favorable view of the landmark healthcare law. The number of people looking kindly on the ACA has steadily grown over the past 12 years, according to the survey, as just 33% of voters viewed the law favorably in 2013.
Given that all three programs would likely be in the crosshairs of a White House seeking to make substantial spending cuts, many of those surveyed said they were concerned that people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid or ACA plans would be unable to secure the same level of benefits. Forty-one percent said they were “very worried” about benefit cuts in Medicare, and 35% and 32% said the same about Medicaid and ACA marketplace plans, respectively.
Just 4% said they were “not at all worried” about reductions to benefits in Medicare.
While the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, says it’s focused on cutting out fraud and waste in the system, the survey found that 28% of people believe its work would lead to major reductions in the benefits that are available in government healthcare programs. Twenty-seven percent said they expect minor reductions in benefits.
“The public is largely divided on whether the incoming Trump administration’s proposed efforts to improve government efficiency will have a negative or positive impact on people who get health coverage through Medicare or Medicaid,” the researchers wrote.