How much will retirees’ votes affect this election season?

Read: 10 ways retirement is changing in the U.S.

Maybe plenty, according to a new poll from Bring the Vote Home—a “nationwide initiative that is surveying seniors on a wide range of issues while empowering them to engage fully in America’s electoral process.”

Read: Is this the beginning of the end of Social Security?

U.S. voters over age 65, according to the poll, are “overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the direction in which the country is headed, citing issues affecting seniors as the most important factor heading into the 2016 elections.”

Seniors are feeling dissed by candidates to begin with, with 71 percent of respondents saying they don’t think those candidates are paying enough attention to seniors’ issues.

More than a third—35 percent—said those issues would be at the top of their minds when they vote for the next President and members of Congress; that’s more important to them than national security (just 27 percent cited that) and the economy (23 percent) when they go to the ballot boxes in November.

While 90 percent of respondents had positive feelings about home health care services and were in favor of Medicare coverage for skilled clinical services provided under a physician's care to homebound seniors and disabled Americans, that’s definitely not the case for a proposed boost in home health care payments for seniors.

More than half (58 percent) totally opposed proposed copayments of $100 for home health patients—which have been shown to jeopardize seniors’ access to care and increase spending by driving patients into more expensive care setting.

In addition, 80 percent of seniors agree that lawmakers should support, not cut, cost-effective services like skilled home healthcare.

Further, more than half (59 percent) of voters said that they would be more likely to support a presidential candidate who opposes cuts to home health.

Respondents also indicated approval for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, which cover many types of services not paid for by traditional Medicare.

Ninety percent of those polled reported being “totally satisfied” with their Medicare Advantage plan, while 85 percent were “totally satisfied” with the plan’s coverage options. Benefits (85 percent), choice of providers (88 percent), care coordination (78 percent) and cost (75 percent) were all areas where senior voters felt satisfied with their MA current services.

Instant Insights /

What political issues will motivate senior citizen votes this fall?

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