U.S. adults trust Obama more than McCain on health care

Fifty-five percent of U.S. adults trust Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) more than presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) to address the issue of health care, compared with 31% who trust McCain more than Obama to address the issue, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, the Post reports.

For the poll, conducted between May 8 and 11, TNS interviewed by telephone a random sample of 1,122 adults nationwide. The poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points (Washington Post graphic, 5/13). The poll found that fewer than 10% of adults cited health care as their most important issue in the election, compared with 36% who cited the economy and 21% who cited the war in Iraq.

In addition, the poll asked adults about their opinions on the direction of the nation and other issues, as well as which candidates they considered most able to address various concerns. The poll also examined who would win a general election between Obama and McCain or an election between Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and McCain (Cohen/Balz, Washington Post, 5/13).

Opinion Pieces

Summaries of an editorial and an opinion piece on health care in the presidential election appear below.

• Baton Rouge Advocate: "As the candidates talk about health care in this election year," much of the discussion "will be on the uninsured," but U.S. residents with health insurance also are "seeing an erosion of coverage that is causing pain in many households," an Advocate editorial states. "Hospitals and doctors are turning to credit card companies or other means of providing credit" to patients without health insurance, as well as those enrolled in high-deductible health plans, the editorial states, adding, "Upfront costs are one thing, but fear of medical debt" can prompt those with health insurance to "delay or forgo health care they might otherwise get." The editorial states, "At its core ... health insurance is intended to shield -- by spreading around risk and premiums -- families from financial devastation caused by health problems." The editorial concludes, "When candidates talk about health care this year, we hope that they look at all sides of this issue" (Baton Rouge Advocate, 5/13).
• Grace-Marie Turner, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Obama and McCain have begun "gearing up for a general election battle" in which they will "offer very different visions for health care reform," Turner, president of the Galen Institute, writes in a Post-Intelligencer opinion piece. According to Turner, Obama, who "sees a much larger role for government" in the health care system, would require health insurance for children, require employers to "pay for insurance for their workers," expand public health insurance programs and "impose significant new federal regulation over health insurance." McCain, who has a "very different vision," would "focus on new financing tools to help people buy health insurance that would be portable from job to job, new mechanisms for those with pre-existing conditions to get coverage" and "prevention and better care coordination," Turner writes. However, she writes, Obama and McCain "agree the key to health reform is getting costs under control." Congress will "wrestle with the intricacies of reform, but in this election year, the vision is the key, and the contrast between the visions that Obama and McCain offer is stark," Turner writes, adding, "The bottom line question will be whether individuals or government will be in control of health care in the future" (Turner, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/12).