More than 40% of voters say the cost of care, prescription drugs and insurance premiums are the most pressing healthcare concerns for the presidential candidates to address, according to a KFF survey released Tuesday.
As the 2024 presidential election draws near, voters are weighing in on how policies under Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump could impact individuals’ access to healthcare. Overall, only 5% of the approximately 1,000 adults KFF surveyed said the the cost of healthcare is the single most important issue that will determine their vote. Nearly 40% cited the candidates’ plans for handling the economy and inflation as their top issue.
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Democratic voters were more than twice as likely as Republicans to say a candidate’s positions on Medicare and Social Security, reproductive rights and healthcare costs would be the deciding factor in their vote, KFF’s recent Health Tracking Poll found.
Nearly 90% of Democratic voters support restoring the right to abortion under federal law, while 70% of Republican voters want states to decide whether or not access to abortion is legal, according to the survey.
Across the board, 61% of respondents said that this election will have a major impact on abortion access.
Regardless of political affiliation, respondents indicated that they trust Harris over Trump when it comes to handling healthcare-related issues. Fifty-three percent of voters trust Harris to do a better job dealing with abortion access, and 48% said they trust the vice president to manage healthcare costs, including prescription drugs. In comparison, 34% of voters favor Trump's position on abortion access and 39% trust him to address healthcare costs.
Since 2020, rising medical care prices have become an growing concern for both patients and healthcare industry leaders.
Increasing demand for expensive medications, including glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, cancer treatments, and cell and gene therapies, is a major contributor to a projection that commercial healthcare costs will increase by 8% next year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute.
