Publications

A new Aspen Institute/Zogby interactive survey indicates that most Americans believe increased access to health care is not enough to improve health outcomes. The results of this poll show that almost half of all respondents (45%) believe universal health insurance would not improve Americans’ health and 48% reported having suffered or know someone who has suffered an illness, injury or death that they believe could have been prevented by better health care. The rate is highest among African-Americans (63%) and those with incomes below $25,000 (56%). Further, a majority of those surveyed (58%) agree that Americans with unhealthy lifestyles should pay more for health care and almost half of all respondents cite either providing preventative health care to all Americans (48%) or having access to more affordable health insurance (47%) as the top mark for a successful reform proposal. Americans overwhelmingly support rewarding those who make healthy lifestyle choices. In addition to strong support for making healthy lifestyle choices more personally rewarding, more than three in four Americans (78%) said they believe those who make poor health choices should be held responsible for them.