Poll:Majority of voters say health care ‘very important’ to them in midterms

Health care is “very important” for 71 percent of voters nationally when deciding which Congressional candidate to vote for in the midterms, according to a poll released Thursday. 

Health care was more important than other issues like economy and jobs which was seen as “very important” by 64 percent of voters, gun policy at 60 percent or immigration at 55 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll.

When asked to choose one issue as the single “most important,” 30 percent picked health care. 

But there was a partisan difference. Democrats are much more likely to see health care as their top issue in deciding who to vote for in November, while Republican voters surveyed in the poll tended to say immigration and the economy are the most important issues. 

Nationally, forty percent of Democratic voters and 31 percent of independent voters said health care is the “most important” issue when deciding who to vote for, compared to 17 percent of Republicans who said the same. 

For voters who said health care is the “most important” issue to them, 24 percent specifically cited the costs of health care and prescription drugs. 

The Kaiser Family Foundation also polled voters in two battleground states: Florida and Nevada. 

There, incumbent Sens. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) are running in tossup races to keep their seats.

Twenty six percent of Florida voters and 24 percent of Nevada voters said health care is the “most important” issue in making their decision about who to vote for. 

The polls also showed that Democrats’ messaging on pre-existing conditions may be working in those two states. 

Sixty-nine percent of Florida voters and 68 percent of Nevada voters said they are more likely to vote for a candidate who wants to keep those protections.

The poll surveyed 1,201 adults from September 19 to October 2 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.