From the Kaiser Foundation announcement and website:

The new Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008 poll finds that one in four (24%) Americans continues to struggle with paying for health care. Health care ranks as a “serious problem” above paying for food (18%), problems with debt (16%), and paying the rent or mortgage (15%) and below paying for gas (37%) or getting a good paying job or raise in pay (26%).
Among the 24 percent that find paying for health care or health insurance a serious problem, those in the poorest health and those with the most need disproportionately report difficulties.

• Half (50%) of the uninsured say paying for health care is a serious problem.

• About four in ten of those with annual household incomes under $30,000 (42%), those living with someone who requires care (42%), those who report their physical health as “fair” or “poor” (40%), and the unemployed (37%) also report struggling with the cost of health care.

• Members of two minority groups, Hispanics (39%) and African Americans (35%), indicate disproportionate problems paying for care.

• Three in ten of those with two or more hospital overnight stays (31%) and two or more emergency room visits (30%) in the past year also report problems paying for care.

“The economic downturn has heightened the pain of paying for health care for many Americans, but as this latest tracking poll shows, especially for people who are sick, lower income, or uninsured,” said Drew Altman, Kaiser’s president and CEO.

The August poll, the ninth in a new series designed and analyzed by the Foundation’s public opinion research team, also examines public perception of the major presidential candidates’ positions on health care and reform.

Generally, the public’s perception of Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama and Republican nominee Senator John McCain on health care issues indicates that Obama maintains the traditional advantage of his party on these issues. When asked who better represents their own personal health care views, nearly two times as many registered voters name Obama (42%) as they do McCain (24%). Independent voters are a key factor for Obama’s rating on health care as they are more likely to see him as reflecting their own views on the topic - 37 percent versus 21 percent for McCain.

When voters were asked which candidate “would be more likely to make health care reform a top priority,” roughly three times as many voters mention Obama (58%) as they do McCain (20%). A majority (56%) of independent voters and even three in ten (29%) Republicans say they think Obama would be more likely to make health reform a top priority.

When voters are asked about the candidates’ abilities to address specific aspects of health care, Obama is chosen by a majority to do more to expand coverage for the uninsured (63%) and make health insurance more affordable (54%). Voters appear split on which candidate would do more to lower overall health care spending with McCain garnering 36 percent and Obama 34 percent.

Health care is holding its position among the top voting issues according to the August Election 2008 Tracking Poll, but is not a dominant voting issue. The economy (49%) is far and away the top voting issue with Iraq (25%), gas prices (18%), and health care (16%) rounding out the top four.

The poll involved a national representative random sample of 1,517 adults (including 1,362 adults who say they are registered to vote) interviewed by telephone between July 29 and August 6, 2008. The margin of sampling error for the full sample and for the registered voters is plus or minus 3 percentage points. For results based on subgroups, the sampling error is higher. The poll brief and comprehensive toplines are available online.
 

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