(Fredericksburg)- Several months after Virginia lawmakers decided to expand Medicaid, public support for the public health-care expansion has now reached its highest level, according to a new University of Mary Washington statewide survey.
The survey, conducted September 4-9 for UMW by the national research firm SSRS, found that 76 percent of Virginians support Medicaid expansion and 18 percent oppose the policy shift, with the remainder uncertain.
In five previous statewide UMW surveys, support for the expansion idea has ranged from 59 percent in September 2013 to 70 percent in September 2017.
“While public support for Medicaid expansion has been strong for years, the latest Mary Washington survey demonstrates that Virginia Republicans were wise to remove this issue from the policy agenda,” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington and director of its Center for Leadership and Media Studies. “When public opinion varies from party preferences, the smart political move is to compromise and change the subject.”