A new survey out by the public policy group, the Utah Foundation, found that there’s one issue that tops the list for voters in 2016.
More than energy issues, more than the environment, more even than K12 education, this year Utahns are thinking about healthcare. That’s according to a report released Wednesday by the Utah Foundation’s Christopher Collard.
“When asked what is your priority concerning healthcare? 60 percent of Utahns responded cost,” Collard said.
Collard says concern over healthcare this year is probably related to the debate over Obamacare and discussions about Medicaid expansion here in Utah. Interest in healthcare erred towards liberals who were surveyed, and especially respondents who are female and who are Hispanic.
The results of their state-wide survey also showed some surprises.
“We first got our survey data and I could see that people were overwhelmingly worried about cost, I was surprised to find out that we actually had the lowest per capita personal expenditures on healthcare in the nation, and not only that, we’re ranked 7th in the nation for our best health,” Collard said.
Another finding, even with our concerns over cost, Utahns prefer to get their healthcare through their employer, instead of on the federal exchange.
“It’s a little bit of a complex process to get it on the exchange and it can be a little bit intimidating, especially if you have to choose something from dozens or maybe even hundreds of plans, to figure out what it is that you want. It can be an intimidating process,” Collard said.
According to Collard, Utahns are passionate about healthcare. But he says, “we want somebody else to take care of it for us.”
According to his report, that’s a sentiment that crosses all party lines.