COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 16 PFCD-healthcare
Issue top personal concern, second most important voting issue
Enthusiastic support for fighting chronic illness as solution to address rising costs
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) commends the two presidential candidates for addressing health care reform, one of the nation's most pressing issues, in last night's final presidential debate, and for highlighting fighting chronic illness as one of the key approaches to reform -- a policy stance that voters enthusiastically support.
"Health care is the number one personal concern for voters, and after the economy, it is the issue that will factor most heavily into their voting decision," said Celinda Lake, prominent Democratic pollster and president of Lake Research Partners. "Given this fact, it was wise of the candidates to spend so much time talking about their approaches to health reform."
Results from a focus group of undecided female voters in Columbus, Ohio held during Wednesday's debate found similar results to a recently released nationwide survey, which suggest that health care is top of mind and fears about rising costs a key concern for voters. Both the focus group and the survey were conducted by Lake and Brenda Wigger, a leading Republican pollster and vice president of Voter/Consumer Research, Inc., on behalf of PFCD.
The "dial group discussion," which used a high-tech device called the Perception Analyzer to allow the women to rate how strongly they agreed with candidates' statements, revealed their overwhelming concern with the issue of health care on the eve of the election:
- The women reacted very positively when both candidates discussed health care, with three of the top ten peaks of the evening coming from health care-related mentions.
- Out of the 58 women participating, 25 picked economy as the most important issue in the upcoming election, while 11 picked health care as the most important.
- Forty of the 58 women said health care was a major issue and would influence their voting decision in the presidential election.
"As 55 percent of women identify themselves as the primary health care decision maker for their families, health care in an issue they care about when they head to the polls," said Wigger. "As shown from the research, their concern has intensified with the slowing economy. Clearly, the cost of care is a priority for many undecided voters," she continued, noting that recently the issue has risen in priority for men as well likely due to concerns about the economy.
The nationwide survey of 1,500 likely voters, which Lake and Wigger released earlier this week, showed similar results. While the economy is top of mind, health care is a strong second, with ties to fears about economic security and rising costs a priority concern:
- Six in ten respondents (58%) say health care is "the major issue" or "one of the major issues" influencing their voting decision this November, including two-thirds (62%) of women and more than half (54%) of men.
- When asked what problem they personally worry about most, health care garnered the most mentions from respondents (21%); economic concerns, such as "the rising cost of gas and food" came in a close second (19%).
- When it comes to reforming health care, and whether candidates should focus on improving the cost, quality, or accessibility of health care, nearly two in five respondents (38%) said something should be done to improve cost versus a third (32%) who favored improving access and 18 percent who favored improving quality.
In terms of candidates' plans to address cost, in both the focus group and the survey voters were particularly moved when the candidates talked about fighting chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer and obesity, and improving prevention and wellness.
- In the focus groups, chronic care and preventative care were two of the four top testing statements all night; the women were most enthusiastic when managing chronic illnesses such as diabetes were mentioned.
- In the survey, respondents identified fighting chronic illness as the approach to health reform that offers the most promise: more than two-thirds (69%) said "catching and treating chronic diseases early" is the best way to improve the nation's health care.
"Undecided women in
Ohio and other key swing states will play a decisive role in determining who makes it to the White House in 2009," said Lake. "These women, like millions of Americans, are struggling with the current economic situation and are concerned about rising health care costs. Americans understand that chronic diseases are a key driver of higher costs and they want the next president to make this issue a top priority."
Top line results from the dial group discussion and the nationwide survey are available at:
www.fightchronicdisease.org.
About the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD)
The PFCD is a national coalition of more than 110 patient, provider, and community organizations, business and labor groups, and health policy experts committed to raising awareness of the number one cause of death, disability, and rising health care costs in the U.S.: rising rates of preventable and treatable chronic diseases. Please visit our Web site at
www.fightchronicdisease.org
About Lake Research Partners
Lake Research Partners is a national public opinion and political strategy research firm. Our principals are among the Democratic Party's leading strategists, serving as tacticians and senior advisors to dozens of incumbents and challengers at all levels of the electoral process, as well as to a wide range of advocacy organizations, non-profit organizations, and foundations. We have nationally recognized expertise on the politics of the women's vote, the youth vote, children as a political issue, and the environmental movement today.
About Voter/Consumer Research
Voter/Consumer Research (V/CR) specializes in issues management for corporations, industry associations, and other for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. V/CR has helped corporate clients understand the concerns of the communities where they operate and develop messages that are heard by both the public and public officials. V/CR has equal expertise and success in providing high quality information to help guide election strategies for political candidates and initiative and referendum campaigns. Based on over 25 years experience in being part of winning campaign teams, V/CR is recognized as a leader in designing effective messages and contributing winning ideas to campaigns.
SOURCE Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease
