Health Affairs

In President Barack Obama’s first weekly video address to the nation this Saturday, he outlined his proposed stimulus package, including efforts on the health care front: “To lower health care cost, cut medical errors, and improve care, we’ll computerize the nation’s health record in five years, saving billions of dollars in health care costs and... Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re just reading the headlines, jobs and the economy have displaced access to affordable health insurance as the electorate’s top domestic concern with six months to go until Election Day. But digging a little deeper into the results of a new poll from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, it appears that voters also believe... Read the rest of this entry »

By proposing to move away from the employer-based health care system to one emphasizing the individual market, Sen. John McCain (AZ), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has set the stage for health care to become part of a major debate about government and the marketplace during this year’s election, Robert Blendon said May 5. Blendon,... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: In connection with the publication of its May/June issue, a thematic issue on health reform, Health Affairs organized a May 5 conference call on the role of health reform in the presidential election. The call was moderated by Health Affairs editor-in-chief Susan Dentzer. Participants included Robert Blendon, a professor of health policy and political... Read the rest of this entry »

The Kaiser Family Foundation reports findings from a new poll today that 29 percent of Americans cite health care as one of the most important issues of public concern. The war in Iraq was cited most often (44 percent). The poll is the first in a series by KFF. The foundation will continue to track... Read the rest of this entry »

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told voters in Iowa this week, “We’re going to have universal health care when I’m president — there’s no doubt about that. We’re going to get it done.” When asked about the failed health reform attempt while her husband was president, Sen. Clinton said: “I think we’re in a better position... Read the rest of this entry »

A national survey of about 1500 Americans finds that 60% believe smokers should pay higher insurance premiums, and 30% believe obese individuals should pay more. “When it comes to personal responsibility, consumers increasingly support making people pay more for unhealthy behavior,” write researchers from NORC at the University of Chicago in their Nov. 14 Health... Read the rest of this entry »

As numerous pre-election polls have made very clear, except in a few selected races, health care is playing a relatively minor role in determining the outcome of the 2006 midterm election. As a result, elected officials will arrive back in Washington with little pressure from voters to change the current direction of the country’s health... Read the rest of this entry »

Americans say that high costs and the lack of insurance and access to care are the most pressing health care problems for government to address, Robert Blendon and coauthors report in an article published today as a Health Affairs Web Exclusive [2-week free access]. Writing a month before the 2006 congressional election, the researchers also... Read the rest of this entry »