Americans show significant interest in healthcare issues

The Keller Fay Group (www.kellerfay.com) today announced study results indicating that daily U.S. conversation during the summer months focused significantly on the topics of health insurance and the healthcare system, reflecting a dramatic shift since April of this year. The change in talk levels for healthcare related topics began in July and peaked in August, even surpassing the amount of talk devoted to the state of the economy, nutrition and dieting, and ways to cut back on expenses.

While roughly 20% of Americans ages 18-69 were having conversations each day about health insurance and the healthcare system during April - June of this year, with healthcare ranking ninth in importance in daily talk, more than 30% of the population was discussing the country's healthcare system by the end of August, bringing healthcare to #2 on the list of most frequently discussed topics, surpassed only by concern for one's own financial situation.

The largest spikes in conversation occurred among two groups of Americans not previously heavily engaged in healthcare talk: blue collar workers and males. Significant increases also occurred among established conversation leaders in the arena: females, adults ages 40+, and individuals working in an executive/professional capacity.

In addition, the study found that cable news viewers have been consistently more engaged in healthcare talk than the average American, with viewers of CNN and MSNBC taking the lead. Over the five-month period studied, however, Fox News viewers experienced the largest rise in healthcare talk; in April, viewers of Fox News were the least engaged among all cable news viewers and made up 20% of Americans discussing healthcare, but by the end of August, this figure exceeded 40% and discussion levels slightly exceeded those of CNN and MSNBC viewers.

"The study findings provide clear evidence that the healthcare issue is captivating the American people. It is not just a topic being discussed within the beltway, nor just among those mobilized by activists on both sides of the issue," says Ed Keller, CEO of the Keller Fay Group. "The heightened focus on healthcare in daily conversation during the last two months signifies that Americans are deeply engaged in the topic -- discussing it to an even greater degree than they are discussing the overall state of the economy. In addition, the increased attention to healthcare in daily conversation among major cable news viewers and particularly among Fox News viewers, demonstrates the impact of the news media to drive the national conversation."

The study findings are a product of TalkTrack®, the Keller Fay Group's measurement program for word of mouth marketing that monitors daily conversations of Americans in all channels (online and offline). Results reflect findings based on interviews of 14,156 Americans ages 18-69 from April 2009 thru August 2009.