Skip to main content

SURVEY: OVER HALF OF AMERICANS STRUGGLE TO PAY FOR HEALTH CARE

 

TEHRAN (FNA)- More than half of working-age adults struggled to afford health care this year, according to a new Commonwealth Fund survey.

While the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports health care research, found that uninsured Americans struggled to pay for health care the most, even those with employee-sponsored insurance are having a tough time affording health care, The Hill reported.  


Out of the insured, 43 percent of Americans with employee-sponsored health insurance struggled to afford health care this year. 

Meanwhile, 57 percent of those who purchased insurance on their own, such as on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, found it difficult to pay for health care this year.  

On top of that, 45 percent of Americans with Medicaid health insurance struggled to afford health care as well as 51 of older Americans with Medicare.  


“While having health insurance is always better than not having it, the survey findings challenge the assumption that health insurance in the US buys everyone affordable access to care,” said Sara Collins, the Commonwealth Fund’s vice president for health care coverage and tracking, and lead author of the study. 

And the high cost of health care is forcing many Americans to forgo medical care.  

Almost 40 percent of working-age adults reported skipping needed medical care or prescription drugs over the last year because they couldn’t afford it, according to the survey.  

And almost 60 percent of those Americans who skipped or delayed care because of costs said their health worsened as a result, according to the survey.  


Uninsured Americans were the most likely to put off addressing their health with 64 percent reporting they skipped or delayed needed health care or a prescription drug in the last year.  

But 29 percent of working-age adults with employee-sponsored health care coverage admitted to skipping or delaying needed health care or a prescription this year.  

Out of Americans who purchased their own insurance, 37 percent said they skipped or delayed health care while 39 percent of Medicaid health insurance holders and 42 percent of Medicare recipients said the same.  

Almost a third of working-age Americans said they had medical or dental debt because of the high cost of care, the survey also found.  


And 39 percent of people with medical or dental debt said it forced them to cut back on basic needs like food, heat or rent.  

Commonwealth asked Americans whether inflation and other cost of living expenses made it harder to afford their health care, according to Collins.  

“We found that insurance did not appear to protect many people sufficiently from the budget squeeze,” she said.  


This article was published in Fars News Agency and is republished here under a creative commons license.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Increase in Demand for Bangladeshi Flags in Pakistan Following Sheikh Hasina’s Regime Change

After the fall of the pro India regime in Bangladesh, there has been a significant increase in the demand for Bangladeshi flags in Pakistan. This surge in interest can be attributed to a variety of factors that have emerged in the political landscape of the region. The changing dynamics have led to a noticeable shift in how people in Pakistan are expressing their sentiments and affiliations. As a result, the Bangladeshi flag has become a symbol of solidarity and support inside Pakistan.
1 comment
Read more

Poll: US Public Support for Israel Wanes as 68 Percent Call for Ceasefire

  TEHRAN (FNA)- Israel’s war on Gaza is upsetting many Americans who think it must follow growing demands for an immediate ceasefire, according to a new poll. The Reuters/Ipsos survey found only 32 percent of respondents said “the US should support Israel”. That is down from 41 percent from a poll conducted on October 12-13 – just days after the war broke out. About 68 percent of respondents said they agreed with the statement, “Israel should call a ceasefire and try to negotiate”. Some 39 percent supported the idea “the US should be a neutral mediator”, compared with 27 percent a month earlier. Only 4 percent of respondents said the United States should support Palestinians, while 15 percent said the US shouldn’t be involved at all in the war. While the US has been a significant Israeli ally, just 31 percent of respondents said they supported sending Israel weapons. The plunge in support...
Post a Comment
Read more

US ‘Biggest Nuclear Threat’: China

  TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United States poses the greatest danger to the world when it comes to the risks of a potential nuclear conflict, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang told journalists on Friday. Beijing has accused Washington of making “irresponsible decisions” in attempts to maintain its hegemony, including through intimidating the international community with its nuclear arsenal, RT reported. The damning statement came in response to the Pentagon’s decision to upgrade US Forces Japan into a joint force headquarters under the command of a three-star officer reporting to the commander of the Indo-Pacific Command. The announcement was made by the US Defense Department in late July following the meeting of the American and Japanese defense and foreign policy chiefs. US Defense Secretary Llyod Austin hailed the development as “one of the strongest improvements in our military ties with Japan in 70 years” at that time. He also said that the two sides “held a separ...
Post a Comment
Read more