Voters: Cost Tops Health Care Issues in Election

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Approximately 34 percent of likely American voters rank cost as their top health care issue in the 2008 presidential election, according to research commissioned by leading voter resource PresidentialRX.com.

After cost, access to health care is the second most important issue on the minds of Americans, with 29 percent of respondents citing the much-publicized topic as their top health care issue, according to research commissioned through Zogby International.

Poll results also reveal clear differences between Democrats’ and Republicans’ top health care issues.

On access:

36.5 percent of Democrats rank access as their most important issue;
16.3 percent of Republicans rank access as their most important issue.
On consumer choice:

12.6 percent of Republicans rank consumer choice as their most important issue;
3 percent of Democrats rank consumer choice as their most important issue.
On federal spending:

11.1 percent of Republicans rank federal spending as their most important issue;
1.9 percent of Democrats rank federal spending as their most important issue.
“The numbers reveal clear differences on how Americans think about health care when they step foot into the polling booths,” says David Osborn, Ph.D. and executive director of Nashville-based Health Care Solutions Group, which developed PresidentialRX.com and is an affiliated institute of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“The health care proposals from each of the candidates are vital to our country and to our economy, yet they are under-explained. Our research shows that less than 20 percent of likely voters understand the proposals.”

For more information on these poll results, visit www.PresidentialRX.com.

PresidentialRX.com is a Web site designed and written for the average American voter to explain how each of the presidential candidates’ health care proposals will impact them. Offering side-by-side comparisons of how the health care proposals will specifically impact insured individuals, uninsured individuals and employers, PresidentialRX.com is a daily-evolving resource to voters, journalists and consumers. As the campaigns move closer to Election Day, PresidentialRX.com will engage the candidates in discussions that uncover the details Americans need to make an informed decision.

The Health Care Solutions Group

The Health Care Solutions Group is a national non-partisan coalition of health care leaders, health policy experts, governmental leaders and stakeholders in the health care system from across the United States. The Solutions Group Advisory Board members, Fellows and staff play a wide variety of roles in health care, offering a unique level of real-life experience in designing, delivering, paying for and managing health care organizations. The Group can be found on the Web at www.healthcaresolutionsgroup.net.