In New Hampshire, health care sways elderly votes

By Jason Szep

DERRY, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Derry boasts the hallmarks of a classic New Hampshire town -- white-steepled churches, fading red-brick textile mills and autumn foliage that's exploding in brilliant reds and yellows.

But one thing is missing: a growing pool of young workers.

Seeking to control the graying of its 34,290 residents, the town where the nation's first potato was planted in 1719 took the unusual step two years ago of limiting construction of new homes for people aged 55 and older.

In the state that helps kick off the 2008 White House race, Derry's aging voters are among the forefront of those who say one issue towers above others: health care.

"I can't afford to go to a doctor or a hospital, and I have problems of my own," said Tony Barros, 77, at the Derry Barber Shop.

Barros says he tunes in when presidential candidates talk of bringing universal health-care coverage to the United States, where the high cost of care has put insurance out of reach for millions of people.

"I would like to be able to go to a doctor or a hospital, show a card, and go home. But that's not happening because each party is not cooperating with the other," said Barros.

He plans to vote for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton after the New York senator visited the nearly 300-year-old town last week touting her plan to require health insurance for 47 million uninsured Americans.

'SOCIALIZED MEDICINE'

Larry McCraig, a former software developer who runs a Derry engraving shop, bristles at the idea of a bigger government hand in health care. He backs former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a one-time venture capitalist who leads his Republican rivals in New Hampshire polls.

"Mitt Romney has probably got the right idea," he said. "I don't really like forcing people to do anything but perhaps that's the best of all of them that are out there."

Romney, who calls Clinton's plan "European-style socialized medicine," has proposed a plan with federal tax breaks and incentives to states to help the uninsured afford coverage.

Romney introduced near-universal health care in neighboring Massachusetts in a plan similar to the one proposed by Clinton. He has since distanced himself from parts of it, including an "individual mandate" that compelled people to buy health insurance much in the way automobile insurance works.

Political analyst Dean Spiliotes said voter concern about health care partly explains Clinton's lead in the small state of 1.3 million people, which is thrust into the national spotlight every four years as it holds the first U.S. presidential primary.

"No matter what Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama put out there, the Republicans are going to try to spin it as socialized medicine, big government, etc.," he said, referring to the Illinois senator who trails Clinton in New Hampshire polls.