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While there is little consensus evident among U.S. adults concerning personal responsibility for healthcare costs, a report based on the results of a Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll demonstrated a growing support for charging higher insurance premiums or out-of-pocket medical costs to those with unhealthy lifestyles.

2,325 participants indicated a variety of opinions:

• Higher proportions (53 percent v. 37 percent in 2003) thought it is fair to charge those who make unhealthy lifestyle choices to pay more for their health insurance or healthcare, based on the idiom that people who live healthier lifestyles incur fewer healthcare costs;

• Slight majorities of adults (56 percent) agreed that the unemployed or poor should be able to get the same amount of quality of medical services as individuals who have good jobs and are paying substantial taxes and that the government should do whatever is necessary, whatever it costs in taxes, to see that everyone gets the medical care they need (53 percent); and

• About half of adults disagreed that it is fair that people who pay more in taxes (or in health insurance premiums) should be able to get better medical care than those who pay little or nothing (51 percent), and that it is unfair to take money through taxes from the young and middle-aged who work to pay for the medical care of those who are old and sick (51 percent).

The results also suggested that people were split on who should be responsible for healthcare costs:

• More than one-third agreed (35 percent) and disagreed (35 percent) that it is unfair to require the majority of people who are healthy to pay for most of the cost of treating those who are sick and are heavy users of hospitals and doctors. Slightly fewer (31 percent) were not sure or declined to answer.

• There is a split (39 percent agreed, 35 percent disagreed) whether the higher someone’s income is, the more he or she should expect to pay in taxes to cover the cost of people who are less well off and are heavy users of medical services. About one-quarter (26 percent) were not sure or declined to answer.

• More people disagreed (42 percent) than agreed (28 percent) with the statement: "If the only way to make sure that everyone can get the healthcare services they need is to have a substantial increase in taxes, we should do it." Another 29 percent were not sure or declined to answer.

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100 percent due to rounding

Source: Harris Interactive.

To view the poll results online, visit www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters_wsj.asp.

Address: Harris Interactive, 135 Corporate Woods, Rochester, NY 14623-1457; (585) 272-8400, www.harrisinteractive.com.