Reducing healthcare costs and improving the health of residents are two priority areas Kentuckians want the next governor and legislature to work on in the next year.  That’s according to new data from the Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP).  Overall, KHIP found the economy, jobs, and education as the top three priorities.

Kentuckians who identified themselves as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all agreed those are the most important issues facing policymakers. Regarding health priorities, nearly 9 in 10 Democrats (88%) said reducing healthcare costs was extremely or very important to them while almost 8 in 10 Republicans (78%) said that.  The gap was wider on improving residents’ health, with 91% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans viewing this aspect of Kentucky life as very or extremely important for the state.

Specifically, in this gubernatorial election year KHIP asked: How important is it to you that the next governor and the Kentucky legislature work on each of the following issues in the next year? Is it extremely important, very important, somewhat important, or not that important?

Overall, priorities seen as extremely or very important were ranked in this order:

• Improving the economy: 91%
• Improving K-12 education: 90%
• Improving job situation: 89%
• Reducing healthcare costs: 83%
• Improving residents’ health: 81%
• Government transparency: 71%
• Fully funding retirements: 70%

“These results give us a reliable snapshot of the most important issues Kentucky adults want to see the next governor and members of the legislature address,” stated Susan Zepeda, President/CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. “It is important for our policymakers to know what priority Kentuckians place on these issues facing the Commonwealth.”

KHIP was funded by the  Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and  Interact for Health.  The poll was conducted September 15, 2015-October 7, 2015, by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati.  A random sample of 1,608 adults from throughout Kentucky was interviewed by telephone, including landlines and cell phones.  The poll has a margin of error of ±2.4%.

Additional KHIP releases on health-related topics ranging from a statewide smoke-free law, to experiences with kynect and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to the impact heroin and prescription drug abuse will be distributed in the coming months.

Click here for the complete one-page overview.