New poll shows only 20 percent say health care is their biggest concern

A new poll shows only one in five respondents say health care is the biggest concern for their family. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: "Want to know why President Obama continues to have trouble gaining traction in the national debate about health-care reform? A Franklin & Marshall College poll to be released today offers a few key clues."

"The national survey of 1,046 people, including 900 registered voters, found that only one in five considered health care to be the most important problem facing their families today. By comparison, half of those polled said the economy and their personal finances were their biggest day-to-day concerns. ... That may be because 88 percent of those polled have health insurance provided by an employer, the government or a private plan. ... Those polled were fairly satisfied -- 37 percent said their insurance was very good, 38 percent said theirs was good and 18 percent called theirs fair." The poll did show some contradictions. For instance, "Fifty-six percent said the nation's health-care system was not meeting their needs in terms of costs" (Brennan, 9/24).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.