Poll: Voters trust Obama over Romney on addressing Medicare issues

Voters in a dozen coveted battleground states trust President Obama over Mitt Romney on reforming Medicare, according to a new poll.

Gallup released a poll Monday, which found that 50 percent of voters in the 12 swing states feel Obama can better "address issues facing the Medicare system" compared to 44 percent who say that Mitt Romney can. The 12 states Gallup surveyed were Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The poll found similar numbers nationally. According to Gallup, 51 percent trust Obama to handle the problems facing Medicare while 43 percent trust Romney.

But the poll found that voters in the swing states are divided on the impact either Obama or Romney would have on Medicare over the next four years. Thirty-three percent, according to the poll, think Obama and Vice President Biden will strengthen the program while 32 percent say they will weaken it and the same amount think they won't make much of a difference. Similarly, 31 percent say Mitt Romney will strengthen the program while 36 percent say the former Massachusetts governor will weaken it. Twenty-eight percent said that Romney would not have much an impact on the Medicare system over the next four years.

Additionally, the poll found that voters, both in the swing states and nationally, are more pessimistic than optimistic about the prospect of Medicare providing sufficient healthcare coverage to all Americans 65 and older in 20 years. In the swing states, 53 percent said they were pessimistic that the program would provide the same level of coverage while 44 percent said they were optimistic. Nationally, the numbers were slightly worse — 55 percent said they were pessimistic while 43 percent said they were optimistic.

The poll's findings are consistent with previous polls that showed voters tend to prefer Obama on healthcare over Romney, despite being lukewarm on the Obama administration's healthcare reform law.

Republicans have repeatedly hammered Democrats on the reform law while Democrats have accused a budget plan authored by Paul Ryan, Romney's running mate, as one that effectively transforms Medicare into a voucher system.

The poll was conducted Sept. 11-17 among 1,216 adults in the swing states. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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