Tracking Poll Finds Health Care, Economy Intertwined for Some Voters; Supplement Report Examines Problems With U.S. Health Care System

• Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008, Kaiser Family Foundation: According to the latest poll, the economy has eclipsed health care and the Iraq war on voters' priority list, but health care plays a role in voters' priorities in two ways: as an independent issue and as part of the growing concern about the economy. The poll finds that among registered voters, health care ranks third as the issue that they want presidential candidates to discuss during the campaign. Party differences exist, with health care ranking second for Democrats, third for independents and fourth for Republicans. Overall, the share of registered voters picking the economy as the issue they want to hear the candidates talk about doubled since December 2007. However, the poll suggests that for at least some voters, the issues of health care and the economy are intertwined. For example, 26% of voters name inflation or rising prices overall as the single most important economic concern facing their families, but health care costs are one of a number of more specific worries cited by similar shares of voters. The public also links health care costs with the economy overall, with 64% of registered voters saying that significantly lowering the cost of health care would help the overall economic situation in the U.S. The March tracking poll also examines political independents and those who name health care as one of the most important issues in their vote for president. The poll is available online.
  
  The poll is part of a broader effort by the Kaiser Family Foundation to provide a central hub for resources and information about health policy issues in the 2008 election. More information is available online at www.health08.org (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 3/7).
  
  
• Health Policy Reform: The 2008 Elections and Beyond, Commonwealth Fund: The supplement report, which appears in the March/April issue of the Columbia Journalism Review, outlines problems with the U.S. health care system and policy options to address them. The supplement also addresses key questions facing the nation in regard to health care. The supplement draws on work from the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System and other research (Commonwealth Fund release, 3/7).