Popular… to a Point: The Enduring Political Challenges of the Public Option

Abstract

Policy Points A decade after failing to make it into the Affordable Care Act, the public option reemerged as a health reform goal at both the national and state levels, with polls reporting strong, bipartisan support. A 2020 poll that probed both support for one public option approach (Medicare “buy‐in”) and attitudes toward government suggests that differences in these attitudes could plague reform advocates’ efforts. Although the COVID‐19 pandemic viscerally highlighted the need for a more coherent health care system—including universal coverage—other recent evolutions in the broader US political context could undermine reform.