Democrats cite healthcare as the top issue for the 2018 midterm elections, according to a new poll. But high costs, not Obamacare, is the major issue concerning voters.
The poll released Thursday by the research firm Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 30 percent of Democrats rank healthcare as the top issue, with 19 percent of independents ranking it No. 1, second behind the economy and jobs at 22 percent. For Republicans, 15 percent list healthcare as the top issue, fourth behind the economy, immigration, and gun policy.
“Large majorities of Republican (66 percent), Democratic (78 percent), and independent voters (72 percent) say that if a candidate for Congress supports bringing down prescription drug costs, they would be ‘more likely’ to vote for that candidate,” Kaiser said.
Similar large majorities also said they would support a candidate who brings down health and insurance costs.
The poll comes as President Trump is expected to give a speech Friday on tackling high drug prices.
It also comes as Democrats are blaming Republicans for expected jumps in insurance premiums for Obamacare plans because they repealed the individual mandate in their tax reform legislation and because President Trump is pushing to expand access to cheaper but low-quality health plans.
Republicans are attempting to push back on the attacks. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said on Tuesday that Obamacare premiums have risen every year and that Democrats blocked a bipartisan deal to shore up the law’s marketplaces.
The poll was of 2,000 voters and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
