Poll: Health Care One of Top Issues in Presidential Race

More than one-fourth of U.S. adults rank health care as one of the two most important issues in the 2008 presidential election, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Sunday. The poll -- conducted by telephone between Oct. 29 and Nov. 1 -- included responses from a random sample of 1,131 adults, with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

According to the Post, "three issues dominate the electoral landscape, with the war in Iraq at the top of the list," followed by the economy and health care. The poll found that 27% of adults ranked health care as one of the two most important issues in the election. Thirty-four percent of Democrats ranked health care as one of the two most important issues in the election, compared with 16% of Republicans, the poll found.

In addition, among blacks, 38% ranked health care as one of the two most important issues in the election, and 20% ranked the issue as the most important, according to the poll. The poll also found that Democrats hold a double-digit lead over Republicans as the party most trusted to address the health care issue (Balz/Cohen, Washington Post, 11/4).

A second poll conducted by Quinnipiac University found that the majority of U.S. voters believe the federal government should ensure access to adequate health care for all residents and provide health insurance to those who cannot afford coverage. The poll, conducted from Oct. 23 to Oct. 29, included responses from 1,636 voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

According to the poll, 53% of voters ranked access to health insurance as their highest priority among health care concerns, compared with 41% who ranked reduction of costs as their highest priority. Seventy-one percent of Democrats ranked access to health insurance as their highest priority, and 80% of Republicans ranked reduction of costs as their highest priority, the poll found.

In addition, the poll found that 70% of voters -- 87% of Democrats, 56% of Republicans and 67% of independents -- believe the federal government should help cover the cost of catastrophic care for residents (O'Leary, New Haven Register, 11/2).

Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Sunday rejected allegations that she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have secret documents on her involvement in health care reform efforts during the 1990s, the AP/Detroit News reports.

She said, "There's been some misunderstanding and some misrepresentation about what the facts are." Clinton added, "The National Archive controls and administers presidential records; that's what they do for every president," adding, "My husband has not withheld a single document" (Glover, AP/Detroit News, 11/5).