Republicans
view fentanyl and other opioids as the biggest threat to public health, while Democrats see
guns
as the top concern, according to a new Axios-Ipsos survey.
Roughly 37% of Republicans thought
opioids
were the biggest public health threat compared to 17% of Democrats. Meanwhile, only 4% of Republicans said guns were a major concern in comparison to 35% of Democrats, showing the partisan divide between major healthcare priorities.
“Like everything else, public health is a tale of two Americas — one red, one blue,” Cliff Young, president of Ipsos U.S. Public Affairs,
told
Axios.
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There was also a major partisan division concerning transgender matters. Roughly 77% of Democrats favored insurers covering “transgender-related medical care,” while only 16% of Republicans were supportive. Divisions on the biggest threats to public health were also stark between education levels. Opioids were the top concern for 32% of people with a high school diploma or less, while 25% of people with some college and 20% with a bachelor’s degree or beyond thought that it was.
Drug overdose deaths rose between 2019 and 2021, with more than 106,000 drug overdose deaths reported in the United States in 2021,
according
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 75% of those overdoses involved at least one opioid in 2021, fueled largely by the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl.
The national survey polled 1,213 adults 18 years and older between Feb.17 and Feb. 21 over their concerns and priorities regarding public health.
Overall, respondents viewed opioids, obesity, and guns as the greatest threats to public health. Approximately half of all respondents believed that lowering costs for healthcare and prescription drugs should be a priority for the government.
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Similar partisan divisions on healthcare priorities can be observed in Congress. House Republicans have prioritized Oversight hearings regarding fentanyl and opioids since the start of the new session, while Senate Democrats have introduced legislation to ban military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.
