Now, on another topic… A number of factors have been suggested as possible reasons for rising health care costs. For each factor I mention, please tell me whether you feel it is very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not important at all in causing higher health care costs. If you do not know enough about some of these factors to have an opinion, just let me know. How important is (INSERT as a factor in causing rising health care costs?

	Very Important	Somewhat Important	Not Very Important	Not At All Important	DK/ Ref.
a.  High profits made by drug companies	69	17	5	3	6
b.  The number of malpractice lawsuits	54	25	7	5	8
c.  The amount of greed and waste that occurs in the health care system:	62	21	5	3	10
d.  The aging of the population	55	29	5	4	7
e.  The use of expensive, high-tech medical equipment and expensive new drugs	46	35	7	5	8
f.   The fact that most people with health insurance have little incentive to look for lower-priced doctors and services	39	33	10	8	10

Of those factors you said are very important in causing rising health care costs, which one do you think is the MOST important reason health care costs are rising?

24	High profits made by drug companies
20	The number of malpractice lawsuits
20	The amount of greed and waste that occurs in the health care system
7	The use of expensive, high-tech medical equipment and expensive new drugs
5	The fact that most people with health insurance have no incentive to look for lower-priced doctors and services
7	The aging of the population
5	(VOL.) All equally important
1	(VOL.) Other reason is most important
8	None extremely important
2	Don’t know/Refused

Survey by Kaiser Family Foundation. Fieldwork conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates between October 14 and October 17, 2004, among a nationally representative sample of 1,202 adults ages 18 and over.