Health care remains the top domestic issue that the public wants presidential candidates to address, trailing only Iraq on the public’s overall priority list, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008.
The June poll finds that 43% of adults cite Iraq as one of the most important issues for presidential candidates to talk about, followed by health care (21%). Iraq ranks first among Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. Health care ranks second among Democrats and independents, while Republicans rank immigration slightly ahead of health (20% versus 18%).
When asked what concerns them about rising healthcare costs, the poll found people are twice as likely to cite having to pay higher premiums and increased out-of-pocket costs (38%) as they are to say increases in spending on government health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid (18%) or increases in what the nation as a whole spends on health (18%). A smaller share (13%) cite increases in the health insurance premiums that employers pay to cover their workers. These views vary little based on party identification.
“Health is not yet back at the level it was in the early ’90s as a national issue, but it is rising,” said Foundation president and CEO Drew E. Altman, PhD. “The decisive factor that will determine whether we again have a big national debate will be the degree to which the presidential candidates really take on the issue in the campaign.”
