Poll finds two-thirds of Americans favor expanding Medicare program

Christina Starks-Clay, an early childhood special education paraprofessional, stood in line on Sept. 11 for a town hall in Lansing, Michigan, for U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, according to NPR. She pulled up a screenshot on her phone of a $1,000 cashier's check she had picked up at the bank that day to pay down part of her son's dental bills. She still owed the dentist $389 even with good dental insurance, and her own cleaning a few weeks earlier cost $600, NPR reported.

Others in line described similar concerns, according to NPR. A man ahead of Starks-Clay talked about watching his brother rack up thousands of dollars in medical debt. A professor emeritus at nearby Michigan State University worried aloud about his grandkids' medical care because his adult children were struggling to meet a $9,000 insurance deductible. Healthcare workers at the event described patients choosing between affording medication or food.

El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, took the stage as the crowd chanted his rallying cry, "Money out of politics! Money in your pocket! Medicare for All!" NPR reported. A photo caption credited to Paul Sancya of the Associated Press shows him speaking at a news conference in Detroit on Aug. 19, 2026.

A new KFF poll found two-thirds of Americans favor expanding the government health program that largely covers seniors, about half of whom are enrolled in private plans through Medicare Advantage, according to NPR. Support for Medicare for All is at its highest in at least a decade, according to the poll. NPR reported that fewer than half of Americans say they can afford their healthcare.

NPR reported that many people do not know how to define Medicare for All. Traditionally, the idea has been to establish a single health insurance program, run by the federal government, that would guarantee coverage for Americans and minimize or even eliminate private insurance, according to NPR. Pollsters have found that how much people like the idea depends on what they are told about it.

Jonathan Oberlander, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who specializes in the politics of healthcare, said: "Too many people don't have health insurance, too many people who do have insurance can't afford medical care, and many people are terrified about the costs of being sick." NPR produced the story in partnership with KFF Health News.