Romney pulls even with Obama on Medicare

Mitt Romney has pulled even with President Obama when it comes to the question of whom voters trust on Medicare, according to a new poll.

October's Kaiser Health Tracking poll found that in one month, Romney brought Obama's lead on Medicare issues from 16 points down to 5, a gap that was not statistically significant in the poll.

Those figures represent the leanings of likely voters. Among seniors, Kaiser found that Romney leads Obama on Medicare by 5 points (48 percent to 43). 

The presidential race has narrowed significantly in the last month, a trend that seems to have shifted many voters toward Romney on healthcare issues despite opposition to his key Medicare proposal.

Kaiser found that 61 percent of likely voters and 72 percent of seniors oppose converting Medicare to a premium-support system. Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), have endorsed plans to partially privatize the program, giving future seniors a fixed dollar amount to buy coverage from traditional Medicare or on the private market.

Opposition to premium support is stable among non-seniors, though Kaiser cited other research that found opinion on the issue to be "quite malleable" and disposed to "persuasive messaging."

Voters are also moving toward Romney on who would better handle Medicaid, lowering healthcare costs and the future of the healthcare law. Obama leads on those issues by 7 or 8 points, down from 16- to 18-point advantages on each issue last month.

The one bright side for Obama remains the issue of "women's reproductive health choices and services," according to Kaiser. In that arena, Obama leads Romney by 18 points and saw only a 2-point drop in his support since September.

Women's health issues have been at the forefront of the race over the last month as the campaigns vie for crucial female voters.

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