NPR/Kaiser/Harvard Survey Evaluates the Public’s Views on Requiring Individuals to Have Health Insurance

A new survey conducted jointly by NPR and public opinion researchers at Kaiser and the Harvard School of Public Health examines how the public views different approaches for expanding health coverage, including provisions that would require all individuals to purchase insurance or parents to obtain coverage for their children.  The survey looks at whether or not the public supports such provisions, the major reasons behind their views, and how opinions differ among Democrats, Republicans and independents.  This survey is part of a series of projects about health-related issues by NPR, Kaiser, and the Harvard School of Public Health.  Representatives of the three organizations worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining editorial control over its broadcasts on the results.  Survey results.

Health Ranks 3rd in March Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008

The March Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008 looks at where health care will fit in the ongoing presidential campaign now that economic concerns are rising. It finds that health care plays a role in two ways: as an independent issue, and as part of the voters’ growing concerns about the economy. Among registered voters, health care ranks third as an issue that they want presidential candidates to discuss during the campaign — named by 28 percent of voters, behind the economy (45 percent, double the level in December) and Iraq (32 percent). When asked about the most important economic concern facing their families, one in four voters cited the general issue of rising prices. Behind this general concern, the cost of health care is one of a number of more specific economic worries cited by similar shares of votes: high taxes (13 percent), the price of gasoline (11 percent), the cost of health care (10 percent), and problems with getting a good-paying job or a raise in pay (9 percent). The March survey — the sixth in a series — also takes a closer look at political independents and those who name health care as one of the most important issues in their vote for president. Full results.

Tutorial on Health Care and the 2008 Election

Tutorial on Health Care and the Election.  KaiserEDU.org presents a new narrated slide tutorial on health care and the 2008 election by Claudia Deane, associate director of public opinion and media research at the Kaiser Family Foundation.  The tutorial uses Kaiser’s regular surveys taken throughout the campaign to examine public concerns about health care affordability, views on different policy approaches, trends in which issues the public wants presidential candidates to talk about, and how views vary by party identification.  KaiserEDU.org is an online resource for faculty and students from the Kaiser Family Foundation.  Tutorial