Many Americans believe Medicaid, food stamp programs are underfunded, poll finds

A new poll reveals many Americans think Medicaid and food stamps are underfunded as Republicans consider President Donald Trump’s spending bill that could cut funding for these government programs. 

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Americans also support boosting or protecting funding for programs like Social Security and Medicare, but respondents were split on spending for the military and border security, while most believe the government is spending a lot of resources on foreign aid, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

This recent AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,158 adults between June 5-9, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. 

Americans want more Medicaid and SNAP funding or kept the same

Why you should care:

About half of Americans say "too little" funding goes to Medicaid, which is a government health care coverage program for low-income people and people with certain disabilities. 

But 45% of respondents say food and nutrition assistance programs like food stamps, SNAP or EBT cards are underfunded, the poll showed. Meanwhile, 3 in 10 Americans in each case say these programs are receiving "about the right amount" of money, implying that most Americans likely do not want to see substantial cuts to the two programs.

RELATED: Medicaid changes could be coming: Here's what Republicans are considering

According to the poll, 2 in 10 people said Medicaid is overfunded, while about one-quarter shared that about food assistance programs.

The poll noted that 46% of Republicans say "too much" is spent on food and nutrition assistance programs compared with about 1 in 10 Democrats and independents. Regarding Medicaid, about one-third of Republicans say the government is spending "too much."

Many respondents say Medicare, Social Security and education are underfunded

Dig deeper:

About 6 in 10 Americans admit there is not enough government money going toward Social Security, Medicare, or education. 

But Democrats think "too little" money is distributed to these programs, compared to 1 in 10 Republicans who say this about either Medicare or Social Security. Roughly one-quarter of Republicans say too much is spent on education.

For Social Security funding, the poll shows roughly half of Republicans say "too little" is spent, compared with about 7 in 10 Democrats.

Americans split on money for border security and the military

Local perspective:

The poll finds that 3 in 10 believe the government is spending "too much" on the military, while a similar share says the government is spending "too little." Nearly 4 in 10 say the government is spending "about the right amount."

Republicans are much less likely to say "too little" is being spent on border security than they were before Trump took office again in January. Now, 45% of Republicans say "too little" is being spent, down from 79% in a January AP-NORC poll.

However, Democrats are more likely to say that "too much" is being spent on border security, with roughly half of Democrats now say this, compared with about 3 in 10 in January.

Separately, 56% of Americans say the federal government is spending too much on aid to other nations, which is down from 69% in an AP-NORC poll from March 2023. While roughly 8 in 10 Republicans say the country is overspending on foreign aid, compared with about one-third of Democrats.