Health care vital to many New Hampshire voters

By Carey Gillam and Andrew Stern

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Vivian Velez is no stranger to hard work. Toiling 14-hour days at three jobs, the 37-year-old can afford her own home and to send her son to college. But she may soon be unable to pay for health care.

"It's getting tougher," said Velez, who has three children, including an 18-year-old son who needs monthly medication for a chronic heart condition. "I'm worried. Politicians make all sorts of promises."

Health care promises to be among the top issues many New Hampshire voters consider when they get one of the first cracks at picking nominees from the crowded field of presidential candidates for the November 2008 election.

Traditionally, the state's January Republican and Democratic primaries are the first in the nation and considered a key proving ground for presidential hopefuls.

And while many other issues -- the Iraq war, jobs, immigration -- are also on voters' minds, some say there may be no starker contrast between the Democratic and Republican candidates than in how they answer the question of government's role in ensuring every American has health insurance.

Currently, some 47 million Americans do not have coverage, including 138,000 in New Hampshire, or about 10 percent of the state's population.

"It seems to be really resonating here," said Dean Spiliotes, a New Hampshire political analyst. "Most of the local polling in New Hampshire has it as one of the top issues behind the war on terror."

Last week, the Democratic front-runner, Sen. Hillary Clinton, rolled out an advertising campaign in New Hampshire touting her record of promoting universal health care coverage. Top Republican hopeful Rudy Giuliani advocates tax deductions to individuals purchasing their own insurance and limits on medical liability for doctors and hospitals.

On Thursday, Republican John McCain proposed providing Americans with a refundable $2,500 tax credit.

New Hampshire's long history of anti-tax fervor and skepticism about campaign rhetoric led many to question whether politicians could come up with any meaningful answers.

SPECIFICS SOUGHT

Still, many in the state's graying population and the poor, who either rely on government-subsidized insurance or are increasingly finding private insurance hard to afford, say fixing a broken health care system is central to who wins the White House.

"There are older people that can't buy their medication," said Pat Stover, 69, who stood in line in the rain recently for free food handed out at a Derry, New Hampshire, thrift store.

Also waiting in line was Barbara Grondell, 67, who said she and her husband were unable to retire because they could not afford more than $100 in out-of-pocket expenses on needed medications each month without working.

"I don't know if universal health care is the answer. But it's got to be better than what we have now," she said.