Health Financing

U.S. residents do not report health care as a top priority issue for the government, but the public remains dissatisfied with the country's health care and public health systems, according to a study in the journal Health Affairs.

For the study, researchers asked U.S. residents in their own words to identify issues most important to them for the government to address.

The survey found that health care ranks fourth among all issues. War; the economy; and gasoline, oil prices and energy were named as priorities by more respondents.

Specific to health care, survey respondents said it was most important for the government to address health care costs, followed by:

• Lack of insurance/access to care;
  
  
• Medicare/prescription drug program;
  
  
• Health care quality;
  
  
• Government's role in health care;
  
  
• Undocumented immigrants receiving health care benefits;
  
  
• Waste;
  
  
• Lawsuits; and
  
  
• Organization of the system.