As the 113th Congress is sworn in, and President Barack Obama begins his second term of office, a comprehensive new Kaiser Family Foundation/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health survey queried the public about their priorities for, and views on, a wide range of health and health policy issues. These include issues that will preoccupy federal lawmakers, such as the role of Medicare in the deficit reduction debate, as well as issues currently being debated in the states surrounding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), such as establishing insurance exchanges and expanding state Medicaid programs.

The survey findings were presented at a Washington, D.C., briefing featuring speakers from the three organizations and a panel of reporters discussing the policy agenda ahead for President Obama and Congress.

Survey Findings

Materials from the January 24, 2013 briefing:

Introduction and Presentations

Drew Altman, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Kaiser Family Foundation
David Colby, Ph.D.,Vice President for Public Policy, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Mollyann Brodie, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Director, Public Opinion and Survey Research, Kaiser Family Foundation
Robert Blendon, Sc.D., Senior Associate Dean and Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis, Harvard School of Public Health

Perspectives from Journalists

Drew Altman, Moderator
Jackie Calmes, White House and Fiscal Policy Reporter, New York Times
Julie Rovner, Health Policy Correspondent, National Public Radio
David Wessel, Economics Editor and Columnist, The Wall Street Journal