By Trudy Lieberman, Center for Health Journalism, March 5, 2020
It’s hardly a secret that health care is a dominant theme this election season. It has been the subject of almost every Democratic debate, fodder for political pundits, and top of mind for voters. Exit polls in the early primary states indicate “Medicare for All” motivated large numbers of voters. Last summer well-known Harvard health policy and polling expert Dr. Robert Blendon prophesized that the election hot topic would be medical costs, not coverage. By that Blendon meant that there would not be a big push to bring health insurance to more Americans. So far, the election has been about both cost and coverage. The power of those twin concerns helps explain in part Bernie Sanders’ popularity.
The public is jittery about health care. The willingness to acknowledge that our current system is not working well and to consider aspects of foreign systems are indeed striking, something I’ve not seen in 40 years of covering this topic. The public’s dissatisfaction appears much deeper than in the past, when pols could sway voters with empty slogans like “affordable quality health care for all,” and the insurance industry could change the course of debate with its infamous “Harry and Louise” commercials. Recall that Harry and Louise were the couple who delivered the message “If the government chooses, we lose” that helped sink the Clinton health plan.
Too many bad things have happened to the health and finances of too many Americans since Harry and Louise dominated the airways nearly three decades ago. Most people realize that something is seriously wrong with the U.S. medical system, and they are less likely to be swayed by slogans and clever commercials. It’s the realization among the electorate that we are all financially vulnerable when our bodies don’t work right for us or our family members. Something bad can happen even when we play by the current rules of America’s health care game. Increasingly, families realize they could be wiped out even if they are insured and have what they believed was “good insurance.”
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