Many say they would change lifestyles if they could save $350 per month.

The American public may need to put its money where its mouth is, as it complains about healthcare policy and reform. In a recent survey measuring consumers’ perceptions about personal accountability in healthcare, more than half of respondents agreed with the concept of

accountability, according to Suffolk University and Silverlink Communications.

Specifically, this survey asked Americans whether health is in a person’s own control and if health behaviors affect the country’s overall healthcare costs, Silverlink reports. Other questions included whether people with unhealthy habits should pay more for health insurance and if monthly savings would motivate a change in health behaviors.

The key findings were

            • In general, Americans feel that their health is within their own control; and

            • Seventy percent of respondents acknowledged that personal health behaviors impact the country’s overall healthcare costs.

Should the Unhealthy Pay More?

Despite how sure respondents were about controlling their health and the impact on healthcare costs, respondents weren’t so sure that those with unhealthy habits should pay more for health insurance.

However, the majority of respondents said they’d be willing to change their health behavior if they could save money —-- and one-fifth would do this for less than $100 per month. The median savings it would take for respondents to be willing to change their health behaviors is $350 per month. “So in essence, we could motivate better health behaviors for more than half of our population for less than the average car payment per month,” Silverlink said.

Demographic variables also played a strong role in the responses. Several key findings included:

            • As people report better health status, they increasingly believe in personal accountability in healthcare (those with unhealthy habits should pay more for health insurance).

            • People with good, very good, or excellent health believe that a person’s health is within their control more readily than those with fair or poor health.

            • Americans with higher incomes and education levels are more likely to believe that their personal health behavior impacts our country’s overall healthcare costs.

            • The self-insured are more aligned with personal accountability in healthcare than people with other types of health insurance coverage. This is perhaps due to the fact that self-insured are more cognizant of the full cost of healthcare, Silverlink concluded. The uninsured are the group least likely to believe in personal accountability in healthcare.