The Last Medscape 2012 Election Survey

Survey 4: A Follow-up to the First Presidential Debate (Early October)

This survey followed the presidential debate and employed a format that used questions with direct quotes from President Obama and former Governor Romney as stated during the debate. Fewer than 2000 Medscape members responded to this survey, perhaps because the long questions discouraged them from answering.

The first question dealt with the candidates' positions on Medicaid; 34% supported Obama's position, 49% favored Romney, and the rest either didn't know or favored neither.

Medscape then asked about the so-called $716 billion savings, which was actually the number used by the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation requested by House Republicans to estimate the budgetary effects of the repeal of the ACA. When asked which approach to Medicare savings would benefit both patients and providers, 53% of those who responded thought that Romney's would, 33% favored Obama's position, and the rest supported neither candidate or didn't know.

The next questions concerned the approach to Medicare itself. The responses differed from those after the vice-presidential plan, with 50% favoring Romney's voucher plan and 38% supporting Obama's approach to Medicare.

The candidates were also questioned about the Independent Payment Advisory Board, with 51% saying that they agreed with Romney's negative view of it and 40% disagreeing.

The last question asked whether the debate had influenced the respondents' views on the race; this time, Romney came out the winner:

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Cite this: The Last Medscape 2012 Election Survey - Medscape - Nov 01, 2012.