PRESIDENT'S STATE OF THE UNION PLANS
TO OFFER ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE, BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR
HEALTH?
January 2008
Alexandria, VA - As Americans
go to the polls on Super Tuesday, they should consider
not just where the candidates stand on health coverage,
but how committed are they to medical and health research
and finding new cures and ways to prevent disease. As
the President plans to offer economic stimulus package
in his State of the Union address, all the presidential
candidates are updating their economic plans, but where
does healthcare funding fall?
According to a new national
opinion poll, health-related research and health issues
overall are priorities for voters in upcoming primaries.
Commissioned by Research!America and 27 other organizations
for Your Candidates-Your Health: 2008 Presidential
Primaries, the poll of 800 registered voters finds
that while health care has been widely discussed as
a campaign issue, health research and funding are also
significant factors in voters' minds.
Specifically, the poll finds
among other items that:
-
82% of Americans say they are more likely to vote
for a presidential candidate who supports increased
funding for research to improve health, and 69%
are more likely to vote for a candidate who strongly
supports federal spending for medical, health and
scientific research;
-
More than half (55%) are dissatisfied with the
quality of health care in America, and 72% are dissatisfied
with the cost of health care; and
-
Nearly half (45%) think we must increase investment
in the National Institutes of Health as a critical
strategy to improve health care, and a majority
(54%) think funding should be increased for core
programs at CDC to improve public health.
Science and research innovation
have driven the U.S. economy's growth over the past
half-century, but our funding hasn't kept pace in recent
years. Without strong, sustained federal research budgets,
private industry has less on which to build. To keep
America competitive in the world's increasingly knowledge
economy, health research and funding is critical.
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