Health care has largely taken a back seat during the presidential campaign and the lack of focus has left the public wanting more. Two in three Americans (67%) surveyed by Gallup and West Health (Sept. 9-16) say that health care is getting too little focus in the 2024 presidential election.
Democrats are more likely (78%) than Republicans (53%) to say health care hasn’t received enough attention. That response is likely because the candidates have been light on the details when it comes to most topics concerning health care in America: Both candidates promise to protect Medicare. According to a September poll by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), the health care-related issues that voters most care about include abortion (7%); Medicare and Social Security (7%) and health care costs, including prescription drug costs (5%).
Most of the candidates’ proposals would only move forward with support from Congress. NerdWallet spoke with three health care policy experts to get their take on what Trump and Harris have in store for health care. Harris Trump What the experts say Josh Bivens, chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute: He says Harris’ plans seem realistic, especially expanding the insulin cap to more Americans.
There’s just some question of how her plans could be implemented. Richard Frank, director of the Center on Health Policy at Brookings Institution: Frank says there are two main areas where Harris can improve prescription drug costs. “The first has to do.