Kaiser's October phone survey of 1,217 adults, including 1,115 registered voters, found twice as many named Obama as the candidate best representing their views on healthcare, rather than Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Republican presidential candidate.
Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed chose Obama as the most likely to prioritize healthcare in his administration, the study found, while 19 percent favor McCain.
Kaiser researchers said an increasing number of Americans are struggling to pay medical bills, and healthcare remains a key part of voters' "economic anxiety."
The survey found 33 percent of Americans reported problems paying medical bills in the past year, up from 25 percent two years ago. Almost one in five Americans report household problems with medical bills amounting to more than $1,000 in the past year.
Nearly half of those surveyed reported someone in their family skipping pills or postponing or cutting back on medical care needed in the past year, due to the cost of care.
In light of this, researchers said they're not surprised to find that twice as many respondents said they want healthcare reform tackled immediately by a new president.
That urgency appears to follow party lines, with the majority of Democrats and independents surveyed saying healthcare reform should be tackled now, the survey found. The majority of Republicans surveyed said healthcare reform should be put off, given the current economic downturn.
Obama was favored in the October survey as the candidate most trusted to make change. Seventy-two percent of respondents said Obama would do more to make sure uninsured Americans get coverage, and sixty-one percent said he would be most likely to make healthcare coverage more affordable.
Forty-five percent said Obama would do more to lower the federal budget deficit than McCain.
Most Democrats and half of the independents surveyed said universal coverage would help the overall economic situation in the United States; 34 percent of Republicans surveyed agreed.
A little more than half of the voters surveyed said the candidates, following two years of town hall meetings, speeches and debates, have paid too little attention to healthcare (54 percent) and energy issues (55 percent), with Democrats and independents more dissatisfied than Republicans on these issues.