Paying for basic necessities has become increasingly challenging for millions of Americans. A new Gallup poll finds that the cost of groceries, electricity, gas and health care is forcing Americans to make tradeoffs that no one should have to make. Health care costs, in particular are harming Americans in myriad ways beyond their health.
Millions of Americans cannot afford health care. Between Medicaid cuts, the end of some Affordable Care Act subsidies, and higher premiums and copays, millions of Americans are becoming uninsured. The Gallup poll finds some Americans are saving on gas, skipping meals, splitting pills and borrowing money to cover health care costs.
Not only low-income Americans are struggling. Middle-income Americans are also feeling the pain. About one in three people polled, representing about 82 million Americans, say that they have had to forgo some basic necessity to pay for health care. Of those polled, nearly three in ten with health insurance have been forced to make a difficult tradeoff.
Nearly half of Americans with incomes between $24,000 and $48,000 have been forced to make tradeoffs. And about one in four adults in families—roughly nine million Americans— earning between $90,000 and $120,000 report making tradeoffs of basic necessities.
About 24 million Americans—one in ten—report postponing retirement because of health care costs. What’s particularly telling is that one in four households earning more than $240,000–the top 10 percent of households–say they delayed retirement or another life event because of health care costs.
Older adults and people with disabilities are constantly forced to make these tradeoffs. Roughly half live on annual incomes of less than $30,000. Out-of-pocket costs are a barrier to care. Traditional Medicare, which gives them easy access to care they need throughout the United States, lacks an out-of-pocket spending cap. So, it is unaffordable for all but the wealthy.
Medicare Advantage plans–HMOs in most cases–charge copays that can be a barrier to care. They also tend to cover care only from a small group of physicians and hospitals in a community and to deny and delay costly care inappropriately, putting their enrollees’ health in jeopardy.
Bottom line: The cost of health care is affecting people’s lives in all kinds of ways beyond their health. Costs are so high that 25 percent of the top 10 percent of American households are affected.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Costs in Medicare Advantage present barrier to care
- Poll: Costs remain a major barrier to care
- Trump tax bill drives up Medicare drug costs
- The most cost-effective way to strengthen Medicare
- 2025: Programs that lower your costs if you have Medicare
