Americans are more worried about the state of health care in the U.S. than they are about the economy, according to an Ipsos/Reuters poll released Friday.
President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have both proposed new health care plans as the November election approaches. President Trump is seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which Biden helped create during his time as vice president during the Obama administration. Biden's health care plan would expand on the ACA, also known as Obamacare, by expanding services and membership qualifications.
Friday's poll, conducted between September 18-22, showed that 19 percent of all Americans considered health care to be the greatest problem in the country while 17 percent felt the economy was generally the biggest issue the U.S. had to face. That represents a shift from an Ipsos/Reuters poll released September 15, conducted between September 11-15, which portrayed the opposite.
In the earlier survey, 19 percent of all Americans said the economy was the biggest problem the U.S. had to deal with while 17 percent said the largest issue was health care.
Friday's poll results showed that only 13 percent of registered Republicans said health care was the greatest problem facing the U.S. as opposed to 28 percent of registered Democrats. The economy worried more registered Republicans with 20 percent saying it was the most pressing issue the U.S. has to face. Democrats were behind by 5 percentage points with 15 percent saying economic challenges were the most important U.S. problem.
Registered Independent voters weighed in equally on the two issues. Both health care and the economy received 24 percent from Independents as the most important problem in the country, according to Friday's results.
On Thursday, President Trump unveiled his America First health care plan. Trump said that his plan would "deliver better care with more choice, at much lower cost" while making sure Americans have "access to the care they need."
"By contrast," Trump added, "the Democratic party is pushing a socialist nightmare. Their plans will result in rationing care, denying choice, putting Americans on waitlists, driving the best doctors out of medicine permanently and delaying life-saving cures."
According to Biden's campaign website, his health care plan would create a public health insurance option like Medicare, provide a tax credit for qualifying middle-class families who purchase insurance under the program and expand coverage to members of low-income populations.
The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Texas federal court's ruling that the Affordable Care Act violates the U.S. Constitution. If the Supreme Court agrees, Obamacare could be repealed.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order on health care.
"It has been and will continue to be the policy of the United States to give Americans seeking health care more choice, lower costs, and better care and to ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions can obtain the insurance of their choice at affordable rates," the order read.
Newsweek reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.
