KFF polling has consistently shown that the high cost of health care is a significant financial strain on American households and that these prices are taken into account when deciding whether or not to purchase health insurance or seek medical attention. These expenses are a major source of anxiety about the family budget. This informational note compiles results from a recent KFF survey on Americans’ perceptions of the true cost of health care.
Key points include:
In the United States, over half of individuals report financial hardship due to the high expense of medical treatment. About 40% of persons in the United States report delaying or forgoing necessary medical treatment in the last year owing to financial constraints; dental care is the most often mentioned service people avoid due to financial concerns. Often, people are unable to receive medical attention or fill medications because of the associated costs.
About one-fourth of individuals state that they or a family member had not completed a prescription, cut tablets in half, or skipped doses of medicine in the recent year due to cost, with higher rates among those in lower-income families, Black and Hispanic adults, and women. Even with health insurance, medical bills may be a financial hardship for anybody.
Approximately 35% of persons who have health insurance are concerned about being able to pay the monthly cost, and 44% are concerned about being able to pay the deductible before their insurance kicks in. To most Americans, the rising price of petrol and other transportation expenditures is the second-biggest source of stress after paying for unexpected medical expenses. Although concerns about the rising cost of fuel and transportation have increased significantly since 2020, many persons still report anxiety about meeting other medical expenses, such as those associated with hospitalisations, surgeries, medications, and long-term care.
Many individuals and families are struggling under the weight of medical bills
About four in ten adults (41%) report having debt due to medical or dental bills, which can include debts owed to credit cards, collections agencies, family and friends, banks, and other lenders. Adults of colour, women, parents, those with low incomes, and the uninsured are more likely to report having healthcare debt. Poor people, people of colour, and those without health insurance are hit most by rising medical expenditures. Among working-age individuals in the United States, a greater proportion of those in certain demographic subgroups report financial hardships that prevent them from receiving necessary medical care when they need it.
Many people over the age of 65 have trouble affording their health care, especially for things like hearing aids, dental work, and medications that aren’t covered by Medicare. A new survey issued on Thursday estimates that 112 million Americans struggle to afford health care, while more than 90 per cent of the population says the expense is not justified. More than 6,600 American adults were surveyed by Gallup and West Health for the Healthcare Affordability Index and Healthcare Value Index.
The Healthcare Value Index assessed how Americans felt about the quality of care they received in comparison to its price, while the Healthcare Affordability Index monitored the public’s capacity to pay for health care. The healthcare expense issue in America and its impact on regular Americans is being monitored by these indices, according to Tim Lash, president of West Health, in a press release. To sum up, more and more Americans are being priced out of the system, and even those who can afford to do so aren’t satisfied with what they’re receiving for their money. The current trend must be reversed, and we can start doing so by enacting more patient-centred policies that prioritise revenue.
If a survey respondent had not been able to pay for health care in the three months before the poll, had not filled a prescription due to cost at that time, or claimed they could not afford medical treatment if they needed it that day, they were classified as “cost desperate.”
People were deemed “cost insecure” if they exhibited two of the three aforementioned characteristics.