Poll: 83 percent say healthcare very important in midterms

Healthcare remains a key concern for voters ahead of the November midterms, a new CNN poll says, even if the issue is less potent than jobs and the economy.

Eighty-three percent of respondents said healthcare was "extremely" or "very" important in determining their vote for Congress. Only five other issues — the economy, unemployment, the deficit, terrorism and government ethics — were deemed more important.

The latest results mark a substantial 14-point increase since January in the percentage of people who rated healthcare as "extremely" or "very" important. The question was phrased significantly differently before the law was passed, however — the poll back then asked respondents how important it was "that the president and Congress deal with [the issue] in the next year" — so extrapolating is difficult.

The latest round of telephone polling was conducted Aug. 6-10 by Opinion Research Corporation among 1,009 adult Americans. In regards to healthcare, 13 percent of respondents said the issue was "moderately important" and 4 percent judged it "not that important."