KFF/AP VoteCast: Abortion and Other Health Care Issues in the 2024 Election | KFF

When asked to choose the most important issue facing the country, nearly four in ten voters chose the economy and jobs, followed by nearly two in ten who chose immigration. Abortion and health care are next on the list, with nearly one in ten voters favoring each. The economy and jobs topped the list of Trump voters and Harris voters, with immigration second among Trump voters and abortion second among Harris voters.

On the economy, health care costs are an important part of voters’ economic concerns. About half said they were “very concerned” about their health care costs, and another three in ten said they were “somewhat concerned.” This is slightly behind the two-thirds of voters who said they were “very concerned” about the cost of food and accommodation, and the same proportion who said they were “very concerned” about the cost of housing and gas. Regardless of groupings, half or more of voters say they are “very concerned” about the cost of these things, except for gas, which makes up nearly twice as much concern among Americans. Republicans than among Democrats.

When it comes to who voters trust to deal with various issues, former President Trump has a clear advantage over Vice President Harris on the economy, immigration and crime by nearly half voters who favor Trump on these issues compared to nearly four in ten who voted for Harris. On the other hand, Harris had a clear advantage on the policy of abortion, health care and climate change, about half like the VP and between three and four out of ten favor the former president on these issues.

Despite the fact that Harris had an advantage in whether voters trust to deal with health care, Trump won the most votes among those who are most concerned about its costs, including half of voters who say they are “very concerned” about their health. maintenance costs. Trump also gained majority support among voters who were most concerned about the cost of gas, food and housing.

When asked about the role the government should play in key health care issues going forward, the largest proportion want to see more government action to lower the cost of prescription drugs. doctor, and three out of four say the government should “get more involved.” Nearly six in ten also support greater government involvement when it comes to ensuring Americans have health care coverage and forgiving medical bills. “Half of the voters say that the government should be involved “more” in ensuring that children are vaccinated against childhood diseases.” On each of these topics, one in five or fewer say the government should “do a little more,” and similar proportions say the government should work now. concern is “about right.”

On these topics, there was some partisan consensus, with a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and independents saying the government should “do more” to lower prescription drug prices. . On other topics, however, there were sharp partisan divisions, with nearly four-in-ten or fewer Republicans saying government should be “more inclusive” and a majority most Democrats want more involvement.

As of 2024, 41 states (including DC) have approved Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act while 10 states have not. In three of these non-expansion states, voters were asked whether they would favor or oppose the expansion of the program in their state. In each of these states, seven in ten or more voters overall said they would like to expand Medicaid in their state, including a majority of Democrats and Republicans.