A new Gallup and West Health study finds that almost one in three Americans are skipping care because of the cost. That’s a huge jump up in the number of Americans skipping care because of cost in the last six months alone. The US has always rationed care based on the ability to pay, and the consequences are dire for more and more people.
Costs are not only a barrier to care for people with average and lower incomes; they are a barrier to care for people with annual incomes of more than $120,000. One in five households with incomes above $120,000 a year have skipped getting care–seven times the proportion who skipped care less than one year ago.
And, it’s hard to imagine a time when health care costs will stop increasing. The market does not control health care costs effectively. So, costs keeping going up for health care, including prescription drugs. That’s why every other wealthy nation regulates health care prices.
The Gallup survey found that more than 12 million people knew someone who skipped care and then died as a result. One in five people knew someone whose condition worsened because the person skipped care.
Nearly one in four Americans report that the cost of their health care is taking a toll on them financially. And one in three Americans with annual incomes under $48,000 are facing huge financial burdens because of their need for care. Deductibles, copays and coinsurance are all rising.
Two in three Americans are in debt, and medical debt is the largest portion of debt. Literally, one in two Americans are now in medical debt. Medical bills are the biggest reason so many Americans are in debt.
Most people no longer think their health care charges are reasonable. Rather, they don’t think they are getting their money’s worth. More than half (52 percent) reported that the health care they got wasn’t worth what they had to pay for it. That’s up from last April, when 43 percent said their care wasn’t worth the cost.
We pay more and more for our health care, yet we continue to fare worse, often significantly worse, than our peers in other wealthy country. Increasingly, however, the health care stakeholders responsible for our exorbitant health care costs control our policymakers, and keep them from regulating prices. We need to vote in more representatives who represent us.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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