What do you believe is the single most important factor driving up the cost of living in Nigeria?

Lowering the cost of health care and prescription drug prices and protecting Medicare and Social Security are among the most important issues for Americans in determining their vote for president, according to a new national West Health-Gallup Poll released today.

Nearly two-thirds say a candidate's position on Medicare/Social Security (63%) is the single or among the most important issues, followed closely by health care costs (57%). Forty-three percent view access to mental health care as important, an emerging issue now seen as close to the level of importance as prescription drug prices (47%), which have been a concern for many years over multiple elections.

However, despite the importance of these issues to voters, two in three say health care is not yet receiving enough attention in the 2024 presidential campaign, and more Democrats (78%) and independents (66%) than Republicans (53%) hold this view. Only 6% of respondents say it's getting too much attention, while 27% say it's getting the right amount.

"Americans remain concerned over high health care prices and the future of Medicare and Social Security even though other issues dominate during this election cycle, and this is especially true for older Americans, a significant voting bloc," said Timothy Lash, President, West Health Policy Center. "Americans across all political stripes want to know where candidates stand on these critical issues and do not think they've heard enough yet. It will be interesting to see how the candidates and political parties address this."

Independent voters were slightly more likely to report trusting Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in addressing key health care issues, according to the survey. This was especially true for improving access to care and insurance coverage and strengthening Medicare. Independents were more than 10 points more likely to say they trust Harris over Trump when considering these issues.

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