Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has been a leading voice in the “Medicare for all” proposals. (AP file photo/Steven Senne)

(CN) – Health care remains an important issue for most Americans and according to a new poll released Friday, Democrats may have an upper hand on the topic compared to Republicans.

When asked in a Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll about which party they trust more to handle health care, Democrats came out ahead 40% to Republicans at 23%, a large difference of 17 percentage points.

Utilizing a unified campaign strategy of staying focused on health care rather than what President Donald Trump tweets, Democrats were able to connect to voters and win the House last year. The poll numbers suggest Democrats could keep the momentum going into 2020.

While Republicans have long tried to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the poll finds 57% of Americans want to keep the ACA as-is or largely preserve it with a few changes added in.

Even with some people opposed to the ACA, many Americans support certain aspects of the law, including: Allowing children to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26 (67%); Providing subsidies to people who can’t afford insurance but don’t qualify for Medicaid (67%); And prohibiting insurers from denying coverage for preexisting conditions (64%).

Regarding the Medicare for All proposal favored by several Democrats, 42% of those polled say they support the single-payer plan, while 31% oppose it. As usual, opinions are split down partisan lines, with 61% of Democrats in favor compared to 22% of Republicans.

The Congressional Budget Office will release its report next week on the subject and what it might cost to implement such a system.

On the related topic of the government providing Americans with healthcare, 57% of those polled said it is the responsibility of the federal government to ensure all Americans have health insurance.

The poll was conducted April 11-14 with a sample size of 1,108 American adults and has margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.