Support For Insure Tennessee Remains High, Despite This Spring’s Defeats

Though Tennessee lawmakers rejected Gov. Bill Haslam’s health care plan, called Insure Tennessee, voters still like the idea.

New polling by Vanderbilt University shows nearly two-thirds of voters from across the state believe Tennessee should expand coverage for the poor.

Democrats are the most ardent backers. But Insure Tennessee also has the support of most independents and nearly half of all Republicans, says Vanderbilt professor John Geer.

“These are pretty big numbers. But what’s even more interesting is the partisan story,” he says.

Geer notes that even 42 percent of people who identify with the tea party support Insure Tennessee. Backing is especially strong among tea partiers in the lowest income brackets.

Insure Tennessee’s support has been consistent since last fall, when Vanderbilt last asked about Medicaid expansion. At that time, 56 percent of Tennesseans were in favor.

Although pollsters have tried asking voters about the program lots of different ways, the only message that seems to turn them off is linking it to the president.

“The thing that changes it is when you mention Obama,” says Geer. “And that just reflects the partisanship that’s embedded in our political system right now.”

That partisan divide isn’t likely to be bridged any time soon, which means it will continue to be tough for Haslam to get his health care plan passed, even if most Tennesseans support it.

Vanderbilt University’s Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions hired Princeton Survey Research Associates International to contact 1,001 registered Tennessee voters by landline and cell phone between April 23 and May 9. The poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.