"Medicare for All is the only solution to our healthcare cost crisis that will offer relief to workers and small businesses alike."
A survey released this week by the Commonwealth Fund found that, faced with soaring costs under the for-profit status quo, 58 percent of U.S. small business owners support replacing America's dysfunctional healthcare system with Medicare for All.
Progressives celebrated the finding as evidence that a key argument in favor of Medicare for All—that the plan would reduce costs for small employers as well as millions of workers—is resonating.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), lead sponsor of Medicare for All legislation in the House, highlighted the poll on Twitter:
As the Commonwealth Fund pointed out in an overview of its survey, small businesses lack the advantages of large corporations when it comes to negotiating with the private insurance industry.
"Small-business owners are often left with little recourse and few options when a health insurance carrier hikes costs," the organization noted.
According to the new poll, 61 percent of small business owners believe the pharmaceutical industry is "very responsible" for soaring healthcare costs, and 60 percent feel the same about the insurance industry.
The Business for Medicare for All coalition said on Twitter that the Commonwealth survey "confirms what we already know: Medicare for All is the only solution to our healthcare cost crisis that will offer relief to workers and small businesses alike."
In an op-ed for The Nation in March, investor and entrepreneur Joe Sanberg argued a Medicare for All system would "reduce the cost of hiring workers, and lower costs for employers by taking them out of the business of buying and providing health coverage."
"It turns out that Medicare for All is the right thing to do for people, and the smart thing to do for our economy," wrote Sanberg. "The seven in 10 Americans who support Medicare For All understand that. Now, it's time for our representatives to listen and act."