President Joe Biden is focusing on lowering healthcare costs, particularly for senior citizens, in his campaign efforts. However, many older voters are still unaware of the provisions in the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act aimed at reducing drug costs for Medicare enrollees. Winning the support of senior citizens, a key voting bloc, will be crucial in the upcoming presidential election as polls show a close split between Biden and former President Donald Trump among older voters.
A recent KFF poll found that awareness of key provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act among older voters has increased since November, but there is still a lack of awareness overall. Despite efforts by the administration to highlight these measures, many older Americans are not aware of Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices, federal laws limiting out-of-pocket costs, and penalties for price increases by drug companies.
Some of the measures in the Inflation Reduction Act have not yet taken full effect, contributing to the lack of awareness among older voters. For example, Medicare is currently in negotiations with drugmakers, and final prices will not be released until September and will not go into effect until January 2026. However, the KFF poll found that large majorities of overall voters support extending these provisions to all adults with health insurance, as proposed by Biden.
When it comes to health care issues, independent voters trust Biden more than Trump to determine the future of the Affordable Care Act, ensure access to affordable health insurance, and maintain protections for people with preexisting conditions. Biden also has a narrower advantage over Trump when it comes to addressing high healthcare costs, but about a third of independent voters do not trust either candidate on this issue.
While older voters have more faith in Biden than Trump to determine the future of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, voters overall are mixed in terms of who they trust more to handle these programs. Biden’s proposal to extend federal premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage has majority support among voters of all parties, with a significant percentage supporting the extension of these subsidies beyond their current expiration date at the end of next year.
On the issue of abortion, a majority of voters support guaranteeing a federal right to abortion, aligning with Biden’s views. However, there is a divide along party lines, with a majority of Democratic and independent voters supporting a federal guarantee, while a significant portion of Republican voters prefer leaving the decision to individual states. Overall, the KFF poll highlights the importance of health care issues in the upcoming presidential election and the varying views among different voter demographics.
