KFF Poll: Public Cites Health Care As Second Most Important Problem for Government To Address

Americans rank health care (22%) behind only war and foreign policy issues (28%)
and just ahead of the economy (20%) as the most important problem for the
government to address according to the July/August Kaiser Health Poll Report
tracking survey. Fewer people name terrorism (9%), tax and budget issues (6%),
education (5%), and crime (3%) as the most important problem.

When asked about seven specific health care problems
<http://www.kff.org/healthpollreport/aug_2005/care/hcp_aug05_4.cfm>, people age
65 and older (23%) are more likely than young adults (14% of ages 18-29, 13% of
ages 30-49, and 14% of ages 50-64) to say lowering the cost of prescription
drugs is the most important issue for the President and Congress to address.
Younger Americans are more likely to pick lowering the cost of health insurance
as the most important health issue (26% of ages 18-29, 30% of ages 30-49, and
27% of ages 50-64); while just over one in ten (12%) seniors say it should be
the top health priority.

The Kaiser Health Poll Report provides ongoing tracking of public opinion in
three key areas: health care worries, health care priorities and attention to
health news. The report is based on data from a bimonthly national random sample
survey designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Findings for the current survey are based on a national random sample of 1,205
adults conducted August 4-8, 2005. The margin of sampling error is ± 3%. The
complete Kaiser Health Poll Report is available online
<http://www.kff.org/healthpollreport/CurrentEdition/index.cfm>.