Poll: Slim majority of Americans support single-payer health care

The majority of Americans now support single-payer health care, according to a new poll released Friday. 

The Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll shows 51 percent of Americans support single-payer, while 43 percent oppose it. 

{mosads}Single-payer is popular with Democrats, with 74 percent supporting it, according to the poll. Fifty-four percent of independents support single payer while 80 percent of Republicans oppose it.

Polling conducted last summer by the Kaiser Family Foundation found similar results: 53 percent supported single-payer.

Single-payer isn’t likely to go anywhere in a Republican-controlled Congress with a Republican president, but more Democrats in recent years have announced support for it. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) single-payer “Medicare for All” bill has 16 Democratic co-sponsors, many of whom are expected to run for president in 2020. 

The poll also found ObamaCare continues to enjoy support from the majority of Americans, with 53 percent supporting it and 41 percent opposing it. 

The poll has was conducted Jan. 24 to Feb. 22 among 1,850 people and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.