Health Care Front-And-Center on Public's News Agenda

The public sharpened its focus on health care reform last week, following news about the debate in Washington more closely than any other story. Interest in health care reform has steadily increased in recent weeks as coverage - including a prime-time presidential news conference - has intensified. Nearly a third (31%) name the debate in Washington over health care reform as their top story, more than the share who cite the economy (19%) or the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. (17%). In addition, the latest weekly News Interest Index survey, conducted July 24-27 among 1,018 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, finds that more than four-in-ten (44%) say they followed health care news very closely, up from 33% in the previous week and 24% two weeks prior.