Health care a top ballot box concern for older Ohioans

Older adults exercise at the Fairborn Senior Center. The majority of Ohioans 50 and older say concerns about health care will affect their vote this fall. CHRIS STEWART / STAFF

Older adults exercise at the Fairborn Senior Center. The majority of Ohioans 50 and older say concerns about health care will affect their vote this fall. CHRIS STEWART / STAFF

The majority of Ohioans over the age of 50 say concerns about health care will affect their vote this fall.

About 81 percent said health care is a “very important” issue when it comes to their vote for Congressional candidates this fall. About 80 percent said Social Security is a very important issue and 76 percent said Medicare is, according to a new poll by AARP and Politico.

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The poll also found

• 74 percent of 50-plus voters support (42 percent “strongly support” and 32 percent “somewhat support”) preserving Ohio’s Medicaid expansion which extended Medicaid eligibility for low-income residents under the Affordable Care Act;

• 91 percent of 50-plus voters are concerned (55 percent “very concerned” or 36 percent “somewhat concerned”) about their utility bills increasing;

• 69 percent of 50-plus voters support creating an Ohio retirement savings plan;

• 74 percent of 50-plus voters say opioid addiction is “a very serious problem” in the state right now, and 61 percent say the government is not doing enough to address it;

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• 70 percent of 50-plus voters “strongly agree” that jobs and the economy are major issues this election season. Only 23 percent feel “well-prepared” to get and keep a job;

• 46 percent of 50-plus voters think government is unprepared to prevent a cyber-attack on public infrastructure.

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