Iowans concerned about healthcare - elsewhere

Iowans, though largely satisfied with the quality of healthcare they receive in their own state, nevertheless are frustrated by access, quality and cost problems across the country and see the problems as only getting worse, according to a new poll by Code Blue Now and the Gilmore Research Group.

At the state level, the vast majority of Iowans have health insurance coverage, are satisfied with the access they have to providers and the quality they and their families receive. And 41% indicated that they are OK with the cost of that care.

When asked who they would trust to create a new healthcare system, a majority of Iowans (51%) said they would trust healthcare professionals followed by not-for-profit organizations (35%). Roughly one in five Iowa voters said they would trust the federal government (22%) or business professionals (21%) to overhaul the system, and 17% said they would trust academic institutions to do so. Multiple responses were allowed, so percentages exceed 100%.

“This is a direct challenge to the candidates—to succeed in winning the hearts and minds of the American people, they need to move beyond party platforms,” former Colorado governor and current Code Blue Now honorary board member Richard Lamm said in a written statement.

Iowa is the first caucus state for the presidential primaries, and virtually all of the presidential hopefuls have stumped there. National polls indicate that healthcare issues top the list of domestic policy concerns that voters want to hear about. Code Blue Now is a nonpartisan grass-roots healthcare reform group. -- by Matthew DuBais