Table 2.
Health-specific Opinions as a Function of the Type of Health Problem
| Non-smokers mean ± SD | Smokers mean ± SD | T-test p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay smokers to quit? | |||
| Is it a good idea to pay smokers to quit smoking? | 2.7 ± 1.6 | 3.4 ± 1.6 | <0.001 |
| Charging for health insurance | |||
| Charge non-smokers less | 3.9 ± 1.5 | 3.1 ± 1.6 | <0.001 |
| Charge smokers more | 3.6 ± 1.5 | 2.8 ± 1.6 | <0.001 |
| Smoking specific attitudes | |||
| Paying smokers to quit will lower everyone’s health costs | 3.0 ± 1.3 | 3.4 ± 1.3 | 0.029 |
| Paying smokers to quit is not fair to non-smokers | 3.1 ± 1.3 | 2.9 ± 1.1 | 0.218 |
| Paying people to quit may be one of the only effective means to increase quit rates | 2.6 ± 1.2 | 3.1 ± 1.2 | <0.001 |
| People who smoke have mostly themselves to blame | 3.6 ± 1.3 | 3.4 ± 1.3 | 0.125 |
| General attitudes | |||
| Insurance should offer incentives to reward healthy behavior | 3.8 ± 1.6 | 3.6 ± 1.4 | 0.239 |
| People should not be paid to do things they should do anyway | 3.4 ± 1.3 | 3.4 ± 1.9 | 0.700 |
| Not obese mean ± SD | Obese mean ± SD | T-test p value | |
| Pay obese people to lose weight? | |||
| Is it a good idea to pay obese people to lose weight? | 2.9 ± 1.6 | 3.2 ± 1.6 | 0.038 |
| Charging for health insurance | |||
| Charge non-obese less | 3.2 ± 1.6 | 3.1 ± 1.5 | 0.709 |
| Charge obese more | 2.8 ± 1.5 | 2.6 ± 1.4 | 0.279 |
| Weight-specific attitudes | |||
| Paying people to lose weight rewards obese people | 2.9 ± 1.2 | 2.9 ± 1.2 | 0.833 |
| Paying people to lose weight would be an effective incentive | 3.0 ± 1.3 | 3.3 ± 1.3 | 0.010 |
| People who are obese have mostly themselves to blame | 2.5 ± 1.2 | 2.5 ± 1.2 | 0.701 |
| General attitudes | |||
| Insurance should offer incentives to reward healthy behavior | 3.71.4 | 3.7 ± 1.4 | 0.950 |
| People should not be paid to do things they should do anyway | 3.5 ± 1.3 | 3.3 ± 1.2 | 0.176 |
Five-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree or very bad idea) to 5 (strongly agree to excellent idea)