<p>Bill McInturff – a highly regarded pollster and political strategist with Public Opinion Strategies – conducts the surveys behind the NACDS’ Victory Vision opinion research program.</p>
<p>While preparing for the Summer 2014 to examine pharmacy-issue perceptions among likely voters and civically minded Americans, NACDS asked McInturff a casual question that drew an illuminating response – one worth sharing on NACDS.org.</p>
<p>The question was this: “International issues seem to dominate the news at this moment – from Iraq, to Afghanistan, to combating terrorism. What does that mean for the advocacy strategies of a group like NACDS – which focuses on domestic policy issues and healthcare specifically?”</p>
<p>McInturff responded:</p>
<p><em>Events around the globe are capturing the headlines, but it continues to be events here at home that are capturing the attention of American voters.</em></p>
<p><em>There are certainly broad trends being reflected in American attitudes about engagement around the world:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><em style="text-indent: -0.25in;">A sharply higher percentage of Americans are saying the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were “not worth it,” with for the first time, a plurality of Republicans agreeing with this assessment.</em></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">S</span><em style="text-indent: -0.25in;">ince the question was first asked a generation ago, the highest percentage of Americans ever are saying that America should be “less involved” around the world.</em></li>
<li><em style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Americans oppose any proposal that once again introduces American combat troops into Iraq.</em></li>
</ul>
<p><em>But, while those trends are important, and certainly these international news stories are important, Americans continue to have a true north on the compass of what’s important to them: the economy and jobs and healthcare.</em></p>
<p><em>In one recent national survey, almost half of Americans said “the economy and jobs’ was the most important problem, with roughly three out of ten mentioning “healthcare” as the second major issue facing the country. Any of the international issues or the threat of terrorism was mentioned by less than one out of five respondents.</em></p>
<p><em>There is one enduring impulse – what matters is what’s closest to home for the voter, their job, their economic security and healthcare.</em></p>
<p><em>It is easy to measure the incredible personal salience of the healthcare issue: In five years of polling for NBC/WSJ and CNBC, the topic which people say they were paying the most attention to was the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. When asked what they are personally most concerned about, people frequently put healthcare costs and coverage on par with any other issue. We care about healthcare because it touches our lives directly.</em></p>
<p><em>So, from an NACDS perspective, all of this just serves as counsel to remember that when the headlines from around the globe fade, we will once again quickly go back to a focus on the same topics – the economy and healthcare. The implantation of the Affordable Care Act will continue to be a significant focus in the healthcare debate over the next few years. The Association’s efforts to align themselves around a patient focused “new pharmacy” role in our healthcare system matches with what consumers’ expectations are, but, NACDS members should always recognize the consumer scrutiny of each major player in our healthcare system will continue.</em></p>
<p>Findings from the 2014 NACDS Victory Vision opinion research project will be described in conjunction with the NACDS Total Store Expo, to be held August 23-26, 2014, in Boston. </p>
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