No Consensus on Personal Responsibility for Health Care

Majorities believe that smokers and non-seat belt users should pay more but not those who are overweight or do not exercise regularly, according to U.S. poll

Rochester, NY—November 13, 2003—Should those with unhealthy lifestyles pay more for their health insurance or their health care? There is no public consensus on this issue according to a new Harris Interactive poll conducted for The Wall Street Journal Online’s Health Industry Edition, which offers authoritative analysis, breaking news and commentary from top health industry journalists.

The survey findings show a mix of values:

• A 46% to 37% plurality of adults say we should not require people with unhealthy lifestyles to pay higher premiums than people with healthy lifestyles, and a virtually identical 47% to 36% plurality feel that we should not require people with unhealthy lifestyles to pay higher deductibles or co-payments for their medical care.

• However, when questions are asked about different types of health risks, attitudes vary depending on which risk is involved. Majorities believe that smokers should pay more than non-smokers (by 58% to 31%) and that people who do not wear seat belts should pay more than people who do wear seat belts (by 53% to 33%). On the other hand, majorities do not believe that people who are overweight (by 52% to 27%) or people who do not exercise regularly (by 52% to 27%) should pay more.

"The public is divided on the issue of personal responsibility, of paying more if you take more risks – depending on the details. There is also a huge divide between those with a college education, who are much more supportive, and those with only a high school education or less, who are much more strongly opposed. This matters because other research shows that education is strongly correlated with healthier lifestyles. People with less education are much more likely to smoke, be overweight, not wear seat belts and not exercise. Men are also much more supportive than women," says Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll^® at Harris Interactive.

To access a downloadable PDF of this Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll with complete data tables, please visit: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters_wsj.asp where previous issues of the Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll are also archived.

This study was conducted online within the United States between October 30 and November 3, 2003, among a nationwide cross section of 2,231 adults, ages 18 years and over. Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of ±3.3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors. This online sample was not a probability sample.

The Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll is an exclusive poll that is published in the award-winning Health Industry Edition of The Wall Street Journal Online at www.wsj.com/health.

The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, published by Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ; www.dowjones.com), offers authoritative analysis, breaking news and commentary from top industry journalists. Launched in 1996, the Online Journal is the largest paid subscription news site on the Web, with more than 686,000 subscribers worldwide. The Online Journal provides in-depth business news and financial information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with insight and analysis, including breaking business and technology news and analysis from around the world. It draws on the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,600 reporters and editors -- the largest staff of business and financial journalists in the world. For the second consecutive year, the Online Journal received a WebAward for the "Best Newspaper Web Site" and was also cited by Yahoo! Internet Life magazine as the "Best Business News" site (2002 & 2001).

In addition to The Wall Street Journal and its international and online editions, Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ; dowjones.com) also publishes Barron's and the Far Eastern Economic Review, Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones Indexes and the Ottaway group of community newspapers. Dow Jones is co-owner with Reuters Group of Factiva, with Hearst of SmartMoney and with NBC of the CNBC television operations in Asia and Europe. Dow Jones also provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.

Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com) is a worldwide market research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll^®, and for pioneering the Internet method to conduct scientifically accurate market research. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, U.S.A., Harris Interactive combines proprietary methodologies and technology with expertise in predictive, custom and strategic research. The Company conducts international research through wholly owned subsidiaries—London-based HI Europe (www.hieurope.com) and Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan—as well as through the Harris Interactive Global Network of local market- and opinion-research firms, and various U.S. offices. EOE M/F/D/V

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online^SM and be invited to participate in future online surveys, visit www.harrispollonline.com.

Nicole C. Pyhel
The Wall Street Journal Online
609-520-4057
nicole.pyhel@dowjones.com

Bonnie Hughes
Harris Interactive
585-214-7541
bhughes@harrisinteractive.com