As Congress Looks to Reduce Federal Spending, Medicare and Medicaid Remain Broadly Popular, and At Least Twice as Many People Want to Increase Spending Rather Than Cut It

KFF January 17, 2025

Among Potential Actions on Health, the Public Sees Price Transparency and Limiting Chemicals in Food as Top Priorities, But Not Medicaid Cuts or Restricting Abortion

With the incoming Trump administration and Republican-led Congress looking to ways to reduce federal spending, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds that the Medicare and Medicaid programs remain broadly popular, and more people favor more spending on those programs than less spending.

About eight in 10 Americans overall view Medicare (82%) and Medicaid (77%) favorably. This includes majorities across partisans, including most Republicans (75% view Medicare favorably and 63% view Medicaid favorably).

About half (46%) of the public say the federal government doesn’t spend enough on Medicaid, more than twice the share (19%) who...

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