Atlanta Wants Better Health Insurance

Atlanta residents, like most Americans, want more coverage and choice in their health insurance plans -- as long as they don't have to pick up the cost, according to a national survey published online Tuesday by the journal Health Affairs.

The survey also found that the uninsured are more likely than those with insurance to reject policies that require people to buy health insurance, and that many Atlanta health insurance shoppers, just like 28 percent of Americans favor charging obese people higher insurance premiums.

The University of Chicago researchers who conducted the survey of 1,517 people said their findings suggest that Americans have difficulty making trade-offs to reform the health system and to make coverage more widely available. Instead, Americans want to put the onus on government and employers.

"Overall, Americans seem to be hoping for a better deal: there is little evidence of self-sacrifice," study co-author Daniel Gaylin said in a prepared statement. "They want employers and the government to do more to help pay for coverage but they still want the right to choose from different policies."

While mandatory health insurance may appeal to some state and federal policymakers, support for such policies varies depending on a person's situation, the survey found. More than 75 percent of respondents without health insurance opposed the idea of mandatory health plans.

This could be because these people feel coverage is too expensive or because they've made a decision to forego coverage and want to reserve the right to make that choice, the researchers said.

The survey also found that most of the respondents believe that Atlanta people with unhealthy behaviors should have to pay more for health insurance. A majority said that smokers should have to pay more, while 28 percent said obese people should pay more. Californians were especially in favor (43 percent) of charging obese people higher health insurance premiums.