When it comes to healthcare issues, voters tend to trust Democrats and their presumptive presidential nominee more than Republicans, but concerns about terrorism, gun policy and the economy are more important to those considering casting votes in November, according to a recent survey.
The latest Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll found that 37% of voters named healthcare as “extremely important” to their vote.
They said they trust Democrats to do a better job than Republicans on all nine healthcare issues presented to them. Democrats were most heavily favored for women's reproductive health, lowering prescription drug costs and determining the future of Medicaid.
Those concerned about women's reproductive health got more to consider Friday when presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump announced Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate. Pence significantly cut funding for Planned Parenthood in Indiana and ushered through some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
About half of voters said the GOP and Trump pay too little attention to healthcare issues, while one-third say the same about the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton.
Democratic and Independent voters said they most wanted candidates to discuss healthcare costs, while Republicans wanted to hear about the Affordable Care Act.
About half of voters said they were following the Zika virus outbreak and the ongoing opioid epidemic “fairly closely” or “very closely” but the presidential campaign and other issues were more likely to be followed closely.
About 47% of those surveyed said the Democratic Party best represents their healthcare views and 46% said Hillary Clinton represents them more than Donald Trump, who was favored by 32%.
