Americans are ready to pay more in taxes, but only if the government uses the money to invest more in health care research.

In a commissioned survey by Research!America of 1,001 U.S. adults, 74 percent of Hispanics, 68 percent of African Americans, 67 percent of Asians and 60 percent of non-Hispanic whites say that they would pay an extra dollar in taxes each week if it meant that their money would go toward more health care-related research.

When asked about candidates who are running for President and Congress, the participants think that politicians are doing a “poor job” relating to Americans’ health expectations. Less than 25 percent say that those running for Congress listen to and understand their health concerns, and one-third have the same sentiment about presidential candidates.

“Candidates need to make a concerted effort before Election Day to engage with voters and try to understand their day-to-day challenges as it relates to their health and well-being,” Suzanne Ffolkes, vice president of communications at Research!America, told HCB News.

“Candidates should articulate their views regarding government support for public and private sector medical innovation that will bring us closer to cures for Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and other serious conditions,” she says.

The survey also shows that 81 percent believe that the medicines available today have improved their quality of life and 91 percent believe that it is important to develop even better medicines to treat health conditions.

In 2015, results from a different survey showed that 17 percent of the respondents recalled hearing presidential candidates talk about science in the past 30 to 60 days. In this new survey, that percentage dropped to 12. Additionally, only 9 percent of the respondents recall congressional candidates discuss science at all.

Survey results also show that 73 percent of the participants think it is important for the government to support incentives for private sector investment in new treatment and cures, and almost 50 percent say that the government is not making enough progress in developing new medicines.

“Voters should also urge candidates to make research for health a talking point on the campaign trail,” says Ffolkes. “The more candidates hear from voters on a specific issue, the more likely they will provide detailed responses.”

“Research!America's goal this election season is to elevate public and private sector research into the national conversation with our voter education initiative, Campaign for Cures: Vote for Medical Progress,” she says.

The full survey can be found here.

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