Oct 26, 2023 - Health
Health care unaffordable even for insured Americans: survey
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As health care costs continue to rise, more than half of working-age Americans said they've struggled to afford care this year, according to a new Commonwealth Fund survey.
Why it matters: The survey is the latest evidence of how people with insurance are struggling to pay medical bills, forcing them to forgo or delay needed care.
By the numbers: Nearly a third of adults reported having medical or dental debt, and nearly half of them said it's at least $2,000.
- Some 57% said at least one-tenth of their monthly budget goes toward health care.
- Forty-three percent of those in employer-sponsored health insurance, which is the largest source of insurance coverage in the U.S., said they had difficulty affording care.
- Of those with insurance, people who bought their own coverage — including on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces — had the toughest time affording care (57%).
- "We found that insurance did not appear to protect many people sufficiently from the budget squeeze," said Commonwealth vice president Sara Collins, the lead study author.
- Uninsured adults still report the highest rates of being unable to afford health care and accruing medical debt.
High health care costs are making Americans sicker, the survey found.
- Almost 40% of adults reported skipping or putting off health care in the past year because they couldn't afford it. Of this group, 57% said their health worsened as a result.
- About 3 in 10 adults said health care costs made it harder to pay for food and utilities, regardless of their coverage status.
Go deeper: Women pay billions more out of pocket for health care
