At any given time, about 10 percent of Americans are responsible for 70 percent of health care spending. Since anyone can be hit by a car or diagnosed with cancer tomorrow, you could be among that ten percent facing very high health care costs, even with health insurance. Unfortunately, health insurers today too often do not provide people adequate coverage, leaving nearly a quarter of their enrollees underinsured, according to a new report by the Commonwealth Fund.
In addition to underinsurance presenting a barrier to care for a large cohort of Americans, the Commonwealth Fund found that 12 percent of Americans went without health insurance during some point in the year. An additional nine percent of Americans surveyed were uninsured throughout the year.
The Commonwealth Fund defines underinsurance as the plight of people with insurance who face high deductibles and copays relative to their income. As a result, these people are often inclined to forego or postpone care.
All in, the Commonwealth Fund survey results show that almost half of Americans (44 percent) did not have insurance throughout the year and/or could not access affordable care even with insurance. Slightly more than half of Americans had insurance throughout the year with access to care they could afford.
Some underinsured and uninsured Americans don’t need care or need little care and can manage. But nearly six in ten people (57 percent) who are underinsured and seven in ten who are uninsured reported going without needed care, including prescription medicines, medical tests, and medical procedures. The consequences of foregoing care can be dire, including preventable death and serious health conditions.
Equally concerning, millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans face medical debt.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Older adults in US face high cost-related barriers to care
- One third of Social Security benefits spent on Medicare costs
- 2024: Programs that lower your health care costs if you have Medicare
- 2024: How much should you save to cover health care costs in retirement?
- What are your Medicare premiums in 2025?
Leave a Reply