Healthcare is No. 1 personal issue for voters.

While the economy is the dominant issue on voter's minds, a new survey conducted by Lake Research Partners and Voter/Consumer Research shows that healthcare issues are next most important for voters. When asked what is the most important issue that effects them personally, healthcare concerns rank number one. To understand how important this issue is to the voters, healthcare ranks above concerns over rising costs of gas and groceries, jobs, education, or even war and security.

Some of the key findings of the study include:

• Health care is the top issue of personal concern to voters today.
• Women voters have been particularly focused on health care as a voting issue with male voters following the trend closely.
• Voters extremely familiar with chronic disease and the majority feel these diseases are preventable.
• Voters feel the issue of chronic disease is being largely ignored by people running for office.
• Treating and preventing chronic disease have moved to the top of voters’ health care agenda. Voters identify catching and treating chronic disease and preventive care as top methods of improving health care.

The press conference call for the release of the study was presented by Dr. Ken Thorpe, Executive Director of Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, Brenda Wigger, Vice President of Voter/Consumer Research, and Celinda Lake, President of Lake Research Partners.