Poll: Iowans want candidates to address health care
By Bret Hayworth Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, August 24, 2007
As two fall presidential candidate forums -- including one in Sioux City -- approach, AARP on Thursday released a poll showing that Iowans want the candidates to share more on what they'd do with the health-care system.
AARP in May formed the Divided We Fail campaign, which seeks to make sure that when presidential candidates come to early caucus and primary states such as Iowa, they address issues related to health care and financial security. The poll of likely AARP Democratic and Republican party caucusgoers shows those issues are on the minds of Iowans, Divided We Fail personnel said Thursday.
Divided We Fail Iowa campaign manager Bruce Koeppl said the war in Iraq is the top issue of concern to both Republicans and Democrats, but concern about health care comes in second, mentioned by 18 percent of Democrats and 13 percent of Republicans. Financial security, including the viability of Social Security and having safe pensions and retirement funds, was also offered as a key issue by Iowans who took part in the poll.
"Health care and financial security are the top two domestic issues to AARP members in Iowa," Koeppl said. Not only are they important issues but also likely determinants as Iowans go about picking candidates, he added.
Therefore, Koeppl said, it behooves candidates to address health care and financial security, especially since the poll showed that many Iowans have yet to settle on a candidate. AARP members are 50 and older, and Koeppl noted that in the 2000 and 2004 elections, 85 percent of Iowa caucus participants were 45 or older.
Divided We Fail is pushing the issues before candidates in the five months before the Iowa caucuses and other early state primaries but won't take a stance on what they should do.
Among Democrats polled, 23 percent said Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has best addressed the health-care issue.
Koeppl said he found that interesting, since of the top Democratic candidates, Clinton was the only one who had not unveiled a major health-care position statement. Coincidentally, that happened a few hours later when Clinton laid out a plan in Lebanon, N.H. In that discussion, Clinton noted that a 2006 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 51 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with the quality of the American health-care system.
On the Republican side, 13 percent of respondents said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney best addressed health care, with no other candidate polling more than 3 percent.
Koeppl said candidates should address the number of Americans without health insurance, the portability of insurance coverage for those older than 50 and affordability of services.
"Affordability is the one we hear the most about," he said.
Concerning financial security, Koeppl said Congress is not likely to address Social Security solvency until a new president is selected. "It is inevitable that the president and the next Congress will have to take action on this issue," he said.
The Oct. 25 Divided We Fail forum will be at the Orpheum Theatre and will be for Republican Party candidates. The Journal is the local media partner for the GOP event.
A September forum will be held in Davenport for Democratic Party candidates.
Read more in Hayworth's Politically Speaking blog at www.siouxcityjournal.com/blogs
AARP in May formed the Divided We Fail campaign, which seeks to make sure that when presidential candidates come to early caucus and primary states such as Iowa, they address issues related to health care and financial security. The poll of likely AARP Democratic and Republican party caucusgoers shows those issues are on the minds of Iowans, Divided We Fail personnel said Thursday.
Divided We Fail Iowa campaign manager Bruce Koeppl said the war in Iraq is the top issue of concern to both Republicans and Democrats, but concern about health care comes in second, mentioned by 18 percent of Democrats and 13 percent of Republicans. Financial security, including the viability of Social Security and having safe pensions and retirement funds, was also offered as a key issue by Iowans who took part in the poll.
"Health care and financial security are the top two domestic issues to AARP members in Iowa," Koeppl said. Not only are they important issues but also likely determinants as Iowans go about picking candidates, he added.
Therefore, Koeppl said, it behooves candidates to address health care and financial security, especially since the poll showed that many Iowans have yet to settle on a candidate. AARP members are 50 and older, and Koeppl noted that in the 2000 and 2004 elections, 85 percent of Iowa caucus participants were 45 or older.
Divided We Fail is pushing the issues before candidates in the five months before the Iowa caucuses and other early state primaries but won't take a stance on what they should do.
Among Democrats polled, 23 percent said Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has best addressed the health-care issue.
Koeppl said he found that interesting, since of the top Democratic candidates, Clinton was the only one who had not unveiled a major health-care position statement. Coincidentally, that happened a few hours later when Clinton laid out a plan in Lebanon, N.H. In that discussion, Clinton noted that a 2006 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 51 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with the quality of the American health-care system.
On the Republican side, 13 percent of respondents said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney best addressed health care, with no other candidate polling more than 3 percent.
Koeppl said candidates should address the number of Americans without health insurance, the portability of insurance coverage for those older than 50 and affordability of services.
"Affordability is the one we hear the most about," he said.
Concerning financial security, Koeppl said Congress is not likely to address Social Security solvency until a new president is selected. "It is inevitable that the president and the next Congress will have to take action on this issue," he said.
The Oct. 25 Divided We Fail forum will be at the Orpheum Theatre and will be for Republican Party candidates. The Journal is the local media partner for the GOP event.
A September forum will be held in Davenport for Democratic Party candidates.
Read more in Hayworth's Politically Speaking blog at www.siouxcityjournal.com/blogs
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Linda Peacock wrote on Aug 24, 2007 10:56 AM: