Health News
- Poll Illustrates How Having Insurance And Access To A Health Care Provider Doesn't Mean You Can Afford The Care
Just because a person has appropriate access to a health care provider doesn't mean they can afford to pay for their services, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll. The poll found that three out of every four Kentuckians with health...
- Two-thirds Of Kentuckians Support A Statewide Ban On Smoking In Most Public Places; Stumbo Says It's Time For A House Floor Vote
Kentuckians have remained steady in their support for a comprehensive statewide smoking ban with two-thirds supporting it, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll. Hours after the poll was released, state House Speaker Greg Stumbo said it...
- 28% Of Ky. Adults 18-64 Say They Lack Health Coverage; 41% Lacked It Sometime In Last Year; Employer Coverage Down Since '08
Nearly three in 10 working-age adults in Kentucky are not covered by any form of health insurance, and the number who get health insurance from their employer, or their spouse?s employer, has plummeted since 2008, the first year of the Great Recession,...
- Smokers Should Pay More For Health Insurance, But Obese Should Not, National Poll Finds
Nearly 60 percent of people in October's Thomson Reuters-NPR Health Poll said smokers should pay more for their health insurance than those who don't smoke, but 69 percent said "no" when asked if people who are overweight or obese should pay more....
- Most Kentuckians In Favor Of Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving
Though three of four Kentuckians admit to talking on the phone while driving, just as many would support a law banning cell phone use while operating a vehicle, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll has found. "Although most Kentucky adults use their cell...
Health News
Most Kentuckians don't think insurance rates should be higher for the obese, but are divided on increasing smokers' rates
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
By a very small margin, Kentuckians think insurance rates should be higher for smokers if the insurance company provides a free smoking cessation program, but most don't think rates should be higher for those who are overweight, says the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll.
The poll, taken Oct. 8 to Nov. 6, found that 50 percent of Kentucky adults said it would be justified to set higher insurance rates for people who smoke, while 45 percent said it wouldn't be justified. Five percent were undecided. This finding was basically the same whether the person had insurance or not.
The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, which applies to each number, so the results were right on the error margin. That means in 19 of 20 cases, the results would be the same if the entire adult population of Kentucky were asked the question.
The poll found that most Kentuckians who have never smoked (63 percent) said insurance companies should not set higher insurance rates for people who smoke. Former smokers, at 51 percent, were less likely to agree with that opinion.
With about 27 percent of Kentuckians smoking, Kentucky leads the nation in smoking percentage, lung cancer and lung cancer deaths, which collectively come with a price tag.
Smoking cost the state $1.92 billion a year for health-care expenditures directly as a result of tobacco use, which amounts to $988 million a year in total taxpayer cost from smoking-related expenses, or $591 per household, Wayne Meriweather, chief executive officer of Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center in Leitchfield, representing the Kentucky Hospital Association, told legislators in December.
The poll also found that the majority of Kentucky adults, 67 percent, think it is unjustified to set higher insurance rates for people who are significantly overweight. Opposition was higher, 77 percent, among those who reported being in fair or poor health; among those who said they were in excellent or very good health, only 58 percent were opposed.
Kentucky ranks fifth in the nation for adult obesity, with one in three Kentuckians considered obese, according the "States of Obesity" report. This also comes with a price tag.
A study in the American Journal of Health Promotion found that a morbidly obese employee costs his or her employer approximately $4,000 more in health care and related costs every year than an employee of normal weight.
The poll was sponsored by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health, formerly the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, and was conducted by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. It surveyed a random sample of 1,597 adults via land lines and cell phones.
Kentucky Health News
By a very small margin, Kentuckians think insurance rates should be higher for smokers if the insurance company provides a free smoking cessation program, but most don't think rates should be higher for those who are overweight, says the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll.
The poll, taken Oct. 8 to Nov. 6, found that 50 percent of Kentucky adults said it would be justified to set higher insurance rates for people who smoke, while 45 percent said it wouldn't be justified. Five percent were undecided. This finding was basically the same whether the person had insurance or not.
The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, which applies to each number, so the results were right on the error margin. That means in 19 of 20 cases, the results would be the same if the entire adult population of Kentucky were asked the question.
The poll found that most Kentuckians who have never smoked (63 percent) said insurance companies should not set higher insurance rates for people who smoke. Former smokers, at 51 percent, were less likely to agree with that opinion.
With about 27 percent of Kentuckians smoking, Kentucky leads the nation in smoking percentage, lung cancer and lung cancer deaths, which collectively come with a price tag.
Smoking cost the state $1.92 billion a year for health-care expenditures directly as a result of tobacco use, which amounts to $988 million a year in total taxpayer cost from smoking-related expenses, or $591 per household, Wayne Meriweather, chief executive officer of Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center in Leitchfield, representing the Kentucky Hospital Association, told legislators in December.
The poll also found that the majority of Kentucky adults, 67 percent, think it is unjustified to set higher insurance rates for people who are significantly overweight. Opposition was higher, 77 percent, among those who reported being in fair or poor health; among those who said they were in excellent or very good health, only 58 percent were opposed.
Kentucky ranks fifth in the nation for adult obesity, with one in three Kentuckians considered obese, according the "States of Obesity" report. This also comes with a price tag.
The poll was sponsored by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health, formerly the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, and was conducted by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. It surveyed a random sample of 1,597 adults via land lines and cell phones.
- Poll Illustrates How Having Insurance And Access To A Health Care Provider Doesn't Mean You Can Afford The Care
Just because a person has appropriate access to a health care provider doesn't mean they can afford to pay for their services, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll. The poll found that three out of every four Kentuckians with health...
- Two-thirds Of Kentuckians Support A Statewide Ban On Smoking In Most Public Places; Stumbo Says It's Time For A House Floor Vote
Kentuckians have remained steady in their support for a comprehensive statewide smoking ban with two-thirds supporting it, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll. Hours after the poll was released, state House Speaker Greg Stumbo said it...
- 28% Of Ky. Adults 18-64 Say They Lack Health Coverage; 41% Lacked It Sometime In Last Year; Employer Coverage Down Since '08
Nearly three in 10 working-age adults in Kentucky are not covered by any form of health insurance, and the number who get health insurance from their employer, or their spouse?s employer, has plummeted since 2008, the first year of the Great Recession,...
- Smokers Should Pay More For Health Insurance, But Obese Should Not, National Poll Finds
Nearly 60 percent of people in October's Thomson Reuters-NPR Health Poll said smokers should pay more for their health insurance than those who don't smoke, but 69 percent said "no" when asked if people who are overweight or obese should pay more....
- Most Kentuckians In Favor Of Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving
Though three of four Kentuckians admit to talking on the phone while driving, just as many would support a law banning cell phone use while operating a vehicle, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll has found. "Although most Kentucky adults use their cell...