According to Gallup poll, Medicare, prescription drug costs are most important to voters in the 2024 election

Analytics firm Gallup and West Health, a group of nonprofit organizations focused on aging and health care, surveyed more than 3,600 U.S. adults ages 18 and older about health issues. The results of the September 9-16 survey were released on September 30. About 1,300 people were surveyed after the Sept. 10 debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, but the survey methodology shows little difference in respondents’ attitudes before and after the debate.

Poll respondents said candidates’ positions on the following health issues were the “most important” or “among the most important” factor(s) in deciding their choice for president on November 5:

• Medicare/Social Security Protection: 63%
• Reducing healthcare costs: 57%
• Reduce drug costs: 47%
• Policies related to access to mental health care: 43%

“Americans remain concerned about high health care prices and the future of Medicare and Social Security — even as other issues dominate this election cycle,” Timothy Lash, president of the West Health Policy Center, said in a press release about the survey. “This is particularly true among older Americans, a significant voting bloc.”

Majority of Democrats and Republicans want to protect Medicare

What respondents viewed as the most important issue and as one of the most important health issues varied by age and political party.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the importance of protecting Medicare and Social Security increased with age, with the vast majority of people age 65 and older (84%) seeing it as a top issue, followed by nearly three-quarters (73%) 50 to 64 year olds and half (50%) of those under 50. Although the issue was most important to Democrats (73%), it was also important to majorities of Republicans (58%) and independents (61%).

People aged 65 and over were also most likely to rate the other three topics as particularly important. They were closest to any other age group in terms of access to mental health care, with the oldest adults (44%) narrowly outpacing those under 50 (43%).

Democrats had the strongest representation on each of the four issues, with reducing health care costs being the highest (75%). Except for protecting Medicare and Social Security, Republicans did not achieve a majority in any category. The lowest majority was on policies related to access to mental health care (30%). On every issue, independent voters swung between Republicans and Democrats.

Healthcare doesn’t get enough election coverage — especially for Democrats

With so many policy areas — from affordable housing to education and immigration — at the center of the Trump-Harris battle, most Americans (67%) believe health care hasn’t received “enough attention.”

The pattern applies to all parties:

• Democrats: 78%
• Independents: 67%
• Republican: 53%

However, Republicans were most likely to say health care received “the right amount of attention” (35%) or “too much attention” (12%).

“Americans of all political stripes want to know where the candidates stand on these critical issues and believe they haven’t heard enough,” Lash said. “It will be interesting to see how the candidates and political parties handle this.”

Republicans and independents are more pessimistic about health care affordability

Just as Democrats were the most likely to say that reducing health care costs was a top issue, they were also the most likely to say that access to affordable health care would improve within five years. More than half (58%) said an improvement was “very” or “somewhat” likely.

About a third of independents (36%) expressed the same optimism, as did an even smaller share of Republicans (31%). Overall, more than half of respondents (59%) said improvement was “not very likely” or “not at all likely.”

A third of voters don’t trust Trump or Harris on health care

As might be expected, Republicans trusted Trump the most on the health issues surveyed, while Democrats trusted Harris the most and independents fell somewhere in between — although Democrats’ trust in Harris outweighed Republicans’ trust in Trump on every issue.

While independents favored Harris, particularly when it comes to protecting or strengthening Medicare, about a third don’t trust either candidate. Independents showed the most distrust (37%) in candidates’ ability to improve the quality of health care.

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