Smokers, obese should pay more health insurance: poll By Kim Dixon
Tue Nov 14, 4:20 PM ET
Most Americans believe smokers and obese people should pay more for health insurance, but they have mixed views on how to help the millions without any health insurance, according to a survey published on Tuesday.
The poll of about 1,500 people found that that about 80 percent believe the U.S. health insurance system, with 46.6 million uninsured, needs fixing.
Sixty percent of those polled favored higher premiums for smokers while 30 percent felt the obese should pay more.
"When it comes to personal responsibility, consumers increasingly support making people pay more for unhealthy behavior," said the report in the journal Health Affairs.
The survey came a week after Democrats, who generally support more government measures to help the uninsured than Republicans, won control of both houses of Congress.
And on Monday, the health insurance industry unexpectedly threw its support behind a plan for nearly universal health insurance.
The rate of uninsured, now nearly 16 percent of Americans, has been climbing for years, driven by consumer demand and escalating prices for prescription drugs and hospital care.
About 20 percent of large employers are already giving discounts to workers who do not smoke, according to Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, which lobbies for corporations on health issues.
"The non-smoker's discount is growing in popularity and I think it is going to grow faster," she said.
As to obesity, "I think it will be a while before we get to the point where people begin tying a financial discount to something like BMI (body mass index)," she said.
AMBIGUITY ON GOVERNMENT ROLE
The poll of 1,517 people conducted in July 2006 found consumers are ambiguous on the role of government and health insurance.
Two-thirds said government should move toward universal health insurance, but 55 percent said the government's role should be limited to help the poor, unemployed and those otherwise unable to buy it.
Said Darling: "Our view is that it has to be shared responsibility; the government is going to have to pay," meaning taxpayers.
About 52 percent of those polled supported mandatory insurance, while 48 percent said it should be left the individual to decide.
Massachusetts and Vermont this year enacted laws requiring individuals and employers to help fund nearly universal health insurance in their states.
America's Health Insurance Plans, the trade group for health insurers, has proposed a $300 billion, 10-year plan to extend coverage first to the poor and later to most adults.
A second study published in Health Affairs said employers, which cover more than 90 percent of the workforce, still view health insurance as a key recruitment tool.
That survey of about 3,000 managers found about two-thirds of employers believe they should share in health insurance costs for workers, which could include paying into a fund for the uninsured.
Tue Nov 14, 4:20 PM ET
Most Americans believe smokers and obese people should pay more for health insurance, but they have mixed views on how to help the millions without any health insurance, according to a survey published on Tuesday.
The poll of about 1,500 people found that that about 80 percent believe the U.S. health insurance system, with 46.6 million uninsured, needs fixing.
Sixty percent of those polled favored higher premiums for smokers while 30 percent felt the obese should pay more.
"When it comes to personal responsibility, consumers increasingly support making people pay more for unhealthy behavior," said the report in the journal Health Affairs.
The survey came a week after Democrats, who generally support more government measures to help the uninsured than Republicans, won control of both houses of Congress.
And on Monday, the health insurance industry unexpectedly threw its support behind a plan for nearly universal health insurance.
The rate of uninsured, now nearly 16 percent of Americans, has been climbing for years, driven by consumer demand and escalating prices for prescription drugs and hospital care.
About 20 percent of large employers are already giving discounts to workers who do not smoke, according to Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, which lobbies for corporations on health issues.
"The non-smoker's discount is growing in popularity and I think it is going to grow faster," she said.
As to obesity, "I think it will be a while before we get to the point where people begin tying a financial discount to something like BMI (body mass index)," she said.
AMBIGUITY ON GOVERNMENT ROLE
The poll of 1,517 people conducted in July 2006 found consumers are ambiguous on the role of government and health insurance.
Two-thirds said government should move toward universal health insurance, but 55 percent said the government's role should be limited to help the poor, unemployed and those otherwise unable to buy it.
Said Darling: "Our view is that it has to be shared responsibility; the government is going to have to pay," meaning taxpayers.
About 52 percent of those polled supported mandatory insurance, while 48 percent said it should be left the individual to decide.
Massachusetts and Vermont this year enacted laws requiring individuals and employers to help fund nearly universal health insurance in their states.
America's Health Insurance Plans, the trade group for health insurers, has proposed a $300 billion, 10-year plan to extend coverage first to the poor and later to most adults.
A second study published in Health Affairs said employers, which cover more than 90 percent of the workforce, still view health insurance as a key recruitment tool.
That survey of about 3,000 managers found about two-thirds of employers believe they should share in health insurance costs for workers, which could include paying into a fund for the uninsured.
