Proposed Cuts to Medicaid Deeply Unpopular Across Party Lines, New NAMI-Ipsos Poll Finds

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Bipartisan Majority Says House-Passed Budget Resolution Would Worsen Health Outcomes as NAMI Urges: “Protect Medicaid. Protect Mental Health.”

Arlington, VA — Americans are deeply and overwhelmingly opposed to slashing funding for Medicaid, according to new polling data released today by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Seven in ten Americans, including a majority across party lines, disagree that Medicaid funding should be cut to reduce government spending, and nearly eight in 10 (78%) believe that Medicaid saves lives by helping people access mental health care. This new data comes as Congressional leaders are debating a budget plan this week that would cause harmful cuts to lifesaving Medicaid funding.

Medicaid is a lifeline for more than 72 million Americans, providing important access to health care coverage. Medicaid pays for one in four dollars spent on mental health and substance use care in this country and covers 40% of non-elderly adults with a mental health or substance use condition. Today’s new research, conducted with Ipsos, highlights widespread support for Medicaid, which 84% of Americans agree is an essential program for providing health care to vulnerable populations – with support high across the political spectrum. With this new data, NAMI urges members of Congress to vote against any budget resolution that would require cuts to Medicaid.

“We often hear that our country is divided on nearly everything—but this polling shows that, across party lines, Americans agree on two important priorities: protecting Medicaid and doing more to address mental health,” said NAMI Chief Executive Officer Daniel H. Gillison, Jr. “We are facing a mental health crisis in our country, and the message from the American public is clear: they want our policymakers to do more, not less, to address it.”

This new data comes as Congress considers deep spending cuts to Medicaid. Three in five Americans (60%) believe Congress is doing too little to address the current state of mental health care – up six percentage points from last June. Three in five Americans agree that Medicaid (61%) and mental health care (60%) should be high funding priorities for the federal government.

Today’s new NAMI-Ipsos poll also finds:

• Americans say Medicaid should be a priority for Congress: 87% of Americans view Medicaid as a priority for Congress to fund federally, with 60% saying it should be a high priority. Additionally, seven in ten (71%) Americans disagree with cutting Medicaid funding to reduce government spending.
• People agree that Medicaid cuts are harmful to health outcomes: More than half of adults (52%) disagree that people with mental health conditions are getting better treatment than a year ago, and 76% are not satisfied with the state of mental health care in this country. Nearly four in five Americans (78%) say that Medicaid funding cuts would lead to worse health outcomes for low-income individuals and families.
• Americans say that Medicaid should be expanded to help people access mental health care, not cut. Three in four adults (75%) agree that Medicaid should be expanded to increase access to affordable mental health care — and 74% agree, including across party lines, that Medicaid expansion has helped improve access to affordable mental health care in states that implemented it.
• People have a favorable view of Medicaid — more so than of private health insurance: Seven in 10 Americans (71%) have a favorable view of Medicaid, seven percentage points higher than their views on private/employer-sponsored health insurance (64%).

People (78%) overwhelmingly agree that Medicaid saves lives by helping people access mental health care, and 85% support protecting federal Medicaid funding to help people access mental health care. That is a sentiment echoed by NAMI advocates, who have shared their Medicaid stories directly with their members of Congress through NAMI’s “Protect Medicaid. Protect Mental Health.” campaign.

“Medicaid saves lives—something NAMI advocates have been sharing directly with their elected officials for months,” said Gillison. “Congress should listen to their constituents and stand up for people with mental illness and their families by not advancing a budget that cuts Medicaid.”

One in three people with mental illness rely on Medicaid to access vital services. Cutting Medicaid funding or benefits would disproportionately harm people with mental health and substance use conditions. NAMI urges Congress not to advance any budget resolution that includes deep cuts or harmful changes to Medicaid. Learn more about NAMI’s efforts to “Protect Medicaid. Protect Mental Health.” at nami.org/Medicaid.

This NAMI-Ipsos poll was conducted March 21 – 23, 2025, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 2,049 general population adults age 18 or older. The survey has a margin of error of ± 2.2 percentage points. Learn more about the poll methodology here.