What Iowa and New Hampshire tell us about Medicare for All

Health care was voters’ top issue in both Iowa and New Hampshire, and it benefitted Sen. Bernie Sanders as well as his more moderate rivals.

The big picture: Sanders has emerged as a national front-runner thanks in part to a base that’s deeply committed to his Medicare for All plan, even as polling data indicate that more moderate ideas like a public option have a broader base of support.

By the numbers: 37% of voters in the New Hampshire exit poll said health care was their top issue, placing it ahead of climate change, income inequality or foreign policy. Results were similar in Iowa entrance polls.

A majority (61%) of New Hampshire primary voters supported both a public option and a Sanders-style single-payer plan.
Just 6% support only single-payer, and not a public option, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of AP VoteCast data, while 26% support a more moderate plan but not single-payer.

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