Medical costs, access top health concerns: Survey
A new survey released this week found that improving the affordability and access to health care is a top priority for Americans, with participants across party lines saying they see the federal government as having a key role in this issue.
The survey was conducted by Gallup and Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health and participants were asked to rank public health issues in terms of importance. The issues included improving health care access and affordability; ensuring safe water and food; strengthening safety net programs; and reducing chronic diseases.
Among those surveyed, 25 percent ranked improving health care access and affordability as their top health care issue while 52 percent overall listed it as among their top three issues.
Ensuring safe water and food ranked second, with 18 percent listing it as their top priority, followed by reducing chronic diseases at 11 percent. Among those who chose access and affordability as a top priority, 75 percent said the federal government would be better for addressing this issue than state governments.
'We see across party lines, for the top issues that Americans were concerned about, they see a strong federal role in addressing them,' Stephen Patrick, professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Rollins School of Public Health, told The Hill. 'For us, that was a bit of a surprise.'
Across party lines, 32 percent of Democrats ranked improving access and affordability as their top health care issue while 24 percent of Republicans ranked food and water safety.
'One thing that I take away from that is that Americans are fairly pessimistic that we've made substantial ground on any of those issues,' Patrick noted. 'Not a single issue garnered more than 50 percent support, but there were a few issues where most Americans think we've lost ground, and one of them is the opioid crisis.'
The survey found a divergence when it came to what people considered to be trusted sources for health information. For Republicans, 56 percent pointed to doctors, nurses and other health care practitioners as their top trusted sources while most Democrats, 60 percent, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was their top source, followed by health care practitioners.
'I think what we're seeing in the survey, and certainly what we all feel, is that you know nothing quite replaces that one-on-one communication, right?' Patrick said. 'We still see a substantial role for again CDC here in relaying information.'
Some subgroups were also more likely to choose social media as a top trusted source for public health information. This included 16 percent of adults aged 18 to 29; 16 percent of non-Hispanic Black people; 13 percent of people who attained a high school education or less; and 12 percent of Republicans or Republican-leaning men.
The survey was conducted from Dec. 2 to 15, 2024, with a sample size of 2,121 adults over the age of 18. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
30 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Trump's book bans hurt the chances for reparations
'We are in a moment of anti-Blackness on steroids, and we refuse to be silent,' Pressley said earlier this month during a press conference at the US Capitol. 'We will not back down in our pursuit of racial justice,' she added. 'The antidote to anti-Blackness is to be pro-Black, and we will do it unapologetically. The United States government owes us a debt, and we need reparations now.' A large majority of Black Americans agree with Pressley. Nearly 3 in 4 Black adults support reparations, according to a 2024 Advertisement But the percentage of Americans of other races and ethnicities who back the idea is low. Less than half of Hispanic (47 percent) and Asian American (45 percent) respondents are in favor of reparations. And only about a third (34 percent) of white adults surveyed back the idea. Only 36 percent of Americans overall back the idea, according to The reasons for this vary. Some of it may be rooted in prejudice and bias. After all, Japanese Americans received Advertisement But some of the opposition to reparations is rooted in ignorance. As communities prepare to commemorate the ending of slavery later this month on Juneteenth, the majority of Americans finish high school knowing very little about just how atrocious slavery was. Only 8 percent of high school seniors were able to identify slavery as the central cause of the Civil War, according to a 2018 Southern Poverty Law Center And in 2017, There are long-term consequences for this knowledge gap. Just 1 in 4 adults (24 percent) strongly agree that the legacies of slavery affect the position of Black people in American society today, according to the Princeton survey. And America's ignorance about slavery is likely to become more widespread given that support for book bans has reached the federal level. In an executive order aimed at preventing students from reading books that introduce ideas about privilege and oppression and their relationship to race, President Trump accused schools that teach students books like Advertisement 'Such an environment operates as an echo chamber, in which students are forced to accept these ideologies without question or critical examination,' he It's understandable why Trump, who made white grievance a foundational part of his presidential campaign, believes his effort to silence authors is popular. His return to the White House is largely viewed as confirmation of many Americans' rightward shift — even on matters of race — since the summer of 2020, when people filled the streets across the country to protest anti-Black racism after the police killing of George Floyd. Most Americans But Trump is misguided. Americans may not be in favor of what they consider preferential treatment based on race. But they are not fans of banning books — including those that aim to make a case for the need for that preferential treatment. Two-thirds of Americans oppose efforts to restrict books in public schools, according to a 2024 Knight Foundation While former vice president Kamala Harris was unsuccessful in her attempt to keep Trump from returning to the White House, she seemed much more in line with where most Americans are when it comes to learning about this country's history. Advertisement 'We just need to speak truth about history. In spite of the fact that some people try and erase history and try and teach our children otherwise,' Harris 'We need to speak truth about it in a way that is about driving solutions,' added Harris, who as a senator cosponsored the bill that Pressley recently reintroduced. In a country where
Boston Globe
30 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Can elite universities remain global?
One reason the schools have arguably been caught off guard is less so: They have misread the nation. Advertisement Large and influential swaths of America The globalization of America's universities began decades ago. When Richard Levin assumed the presidency of Yale in 1993, in his inaugural address he stated that 'as we enter the 21st century, we must aspire to educate leaders for the whole world. … We must focus even more on global issues … if we are to be a world university.' For Levin, the mission was clear. In the early 18th century, Yale's mandate was to educate leaders and citizens for the region. 'By the mid-nineteenth century, our compass had become the whole nation,' he said. Now the work would be global. And Yale was far from alone in such ambitions. Advertisement From the establishment of campuses overseas to the creation of research centers and collaborations worldwide and the embrace of international students, many universities have changed dramatically in the years since Levin made those remarks. Today, For years, this embrace of international students was largely seen as in accord with the national interest. Despite pockets of protests, globalization on campus was treated as inevitable — and desirable — in many quarters. Meanwhile, the federal government maintained expansive investment in these universities — to the tune of The assumptions driving the internationalization of America's universities, however, have now changed. Many people no longer believe globalization is good for America. That change is most obvious in the MAGA movement. But the anti-Israel protests tinged with anti-American, anti-Western, and anti-capitalist messages that some international students have helped lead have alienated other Americans as well. Advertisement As a result, many universities have been caught out over their skis. Some now see a heavy international student presence less as a virtue and more as something suspect when it comes to university leaders' motives and wisdom. On university campuses, many faculty would undoubtedly disagree and argue that globalization is still a positive force for America. But with seats scarce at exclusive universities, filling them with international students is seen through a zero-sum lens. Universities may now face a decision. Do they want internationalization or federal support? Both may no longer be an option. The compact between universities and the federal government can only continue if the work of the university is seen as being in lockstep with the national interest. This isn't to say this is the end of global universities. Or of research universities. Minerva University, where I serve on the board of trustees, is unabashedly global. Eighty-five percent of students hail from countries other than the United States. All students live outside the United States for three of their four years. But Minerva doesn't take any federal money, nor is its model built around research. On the other hand, the Highly selective universities may choose to fight to retain federal support and remain global in the hopes that they can weather the next few years. Advertisement But with alternative models and the ascendance of skepticism around the merits of globalization, it seems less clear if this will be a viable strategy.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Looking for an edge, Democrats? Just look around you.
Here's a simple, cost-effective, noncontroversial, and human response to the chaos: storytelling. Telling stories about the real-life human consequences of this administration's policies and directives could cut through the noise. Run 15-second spots about real people and their stories nationally across multiple platforms from now to the midterms and beyond. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Hear from a mother returning food when the grocery bill is too high, a student dropping out of college because child care is unavailable or too expensive, a pizza shop owner without a dishwasher, or a contractor who cannot find painters. Watch a parent being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement with their children watching. Show a grandfather waiting hours to talk to Social Security, or a woman taking her medication every other day because health care costs are too high. All in 15 seconds each. Advertisement By telling people about the results of policy decisions and executive actions in clear, simple ways, the Democratic Party can create a groundswell of informed, engaged citizens ready to advocate for change and hold their leaders accountable. It would be powerful. Advertisement Deborah Heller Boston Democrats shouldn't get lost in words A Washington Post report featured in the Globe ('Debate revives over left-wing buzzwords,' Political Notebook, May 27) suggests that terms like 'Food insecurity' sounds like an anxiety disorder. Children in the depths of poverty are not experiencing food insecurity. They are hungry or starving. The Trump regime is not an oligarchy; rather, it is a dictatorship with one ruler enabled by people like Marco Rubio and Mike Johnson, who are not fellow oligarchs but, rather, bootlickers or, to use the fancy Greek word, sycophants. In 'Politics and the English Language,' George Orwell demonstrates how politicians use vague, sugar-coated, euphemistic terms (like 'food insecurity') to justify behavior, policy, or circumstances that cannot be justified. Such words are lies in disguise. Donald Trump's supporters often say they like him because he speaks his mind. He's upfront. He doesn't talk euphemistically, like other politicians. No disguises. Right. He just lies and lies and lies. The mystery is why so many Trump supporters don't seem to care how often or how blatantly he does so. John R. Nelson Gloucester The writer is a professor emeritus of English at North Shore Community College. The poor get poorer while the Trump family gets richer An article on Page A6 of the May 26 Boston Globe was headlined Advertisement The Democrats certainly have to promote a better path forward, but highlighting Trump's abuses while putting forward a plan for the future would be a foundation on which to build. There's so much at stake for the economy, health, education, the environment, and the rule of law that Democrats can champion in contrast to the utter destruction we're seeing now. John Cotter Melrose If populism thrives on grievance, we need a new brand of populism As Larry Edelman and countless other commentators have pointed out, populism thrives on grievance ( We've seen increasing signs of the human tropism toward divisiveness and an 'us against them' mentality. A 'revenge is sweet' refrain now echoes around the world. It's considered not just sweet but justified. Not just justified but necessary. Populism will always thrive on carefully choosing its targets. And though hurting Harvard or immigrants or health research will improve the lives of no one, that doesn't matter. Revenge is rarely rational or well-reasoned. It's emotionally intoxicating. Therein lies the enduring lure of populism. Until the Democrats figure out how to build their own brand of populism, one that captures the hearts, souls, and imaginations of the populace, we will all be forced to endure life in an 'us against them' society. Advertisement Elaine Mintzer Keene, N.H.
