One in five families cannot pay for their medical bills – meaning 54 million Americans struggle to afford healthcare
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Even those who earn twice the poverty threshold have trouble paying
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Burden of costs affects quarter of those with Medicare or Medicaid
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The number of families struggling to pay for their healthcare has come down slightly, but one in five families still struggles to pay for medical bills, federal researchers found.
Figures showed that 20.3 per cent of people under 65 are in families that had trouble paying a medical bill during the first half of 2012.
The figure was down from 21.7 per cent in the first half of 2011, the National Center for Health Statistics found.
Vital signs: The prognosis for affordable healthcare is not looking good, with one in five families struggling
The numbers will be closely scrutinized as the U.S. moves towards healthcare reform. The 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, is designed to get more people covered by health insurance and, in theory, take away some of the financial burdens.
In the health statistics study Robin Cohen and colleagues looked at data from national surveys for their report.
They excluded people who are 65 or older because they have the right to coverage by Medicare, the federal health insurance plan for the elderly.
However, a quarter of those who had public health insurance such as Medicare or Medicaid struggled to pay for their medical care, the survey found.
‘In the first 6 months of 2012, among persons under age 65, 36.3 per cent of those who were uninsured, 14 per cent of those who had private coverage, and 25.6 per cent of those who had public coverage were in families having problems paying medical bills,’Â the report said.Â
Poor health: Researchers found 14 per cent of the wealthier families still struggled to pay for their medical bills
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Fewer Families in U.S. Say Struggling to Pay Medical Bill
Fewer families are struggling to pay their medical bills, according to a report that suggests the cost of health-care may be starting to slow.
About 20 percent of people under 65 reported being in a family that was having problems paying for medical bills in the first six months of 2012, according to a survey by the National Center for Health Statistics. That’s a decrease from about 22 percent in the same period a year earlier, a drop of about 3.6 million people, the report found.
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CDC: One in five Americans can’t pay medical bills
When times are tough economically, medical care may suffer.
Recent surveys suggest Americans are skipping necessary medical care or not getting prescriptions filled because of cost concerns.
Hospital prices vary widely, report shows
A new government report finds about one in five Americans face problems paying their medical bills, but things may be improving.
Statisticians at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics reviewed government survey data, and found 20.3 percent of U.S. adults under 65 had troubles paying medical expenses during the first six months of 2012. That’s down though, from 21.7 percent during the first six months of the previous year. The new statistics, however, still reflect that more than 54 million Americans are facing troubles meeting medical costs.
Expenses may include medication, equipment, home care, or trips to doctors, dentists, hospitals and therapists.
Children 17 and younger were more likely to be in families who had bill problems than adult-only homes.
- Young adults protected from emergency room costs under Affordable Care Act: Study
- Drug costs may vary widely across U.S. after health care overhaul
- Hospital costs can vary more than $200,000 for same procedure, gov’t report reveals
The new statistical report paints a snapshot of U.S. health care ahead of the Jan. 2014 implementation of the provision in the Affordable Care Act that mandates insurance for all Americans.
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Surprise: Americans are having less trouble paying medical bills.
Here’s a rare bit of good news on health care costs: Americans are having an easier time paying their medical bills than they did just a year ago.
New data from the Center for Disease Control show there were 57.8 million Americans who had trouble paying their health care bills in the first six months of 2011. That number fell by 3.6 million, hitting 54.2 million in the same span of 2012.
Many of those gains accrued, perhaps surprisingly, to public health program enrollees, people signed up for programs like Medicaid.
Splice the data slightly differently, and you can see that families with children under 17 saw a statistically significant
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Related articles
- Fewer Families Struggling to Pay Medical Bills: CDC (news.health.com)
- Fewer Families Struggling to Pay Medical Bills: CDC (webmd.com)
- Medical Bills Survey Reveals One-Fifth of American Families Face Burdensome Health Care Costs (huffingtonpost.com)
- New Survey Shows that One Out of Five American Families Are Struggling with Health Care Costs (blackchristiannews.com)
- Our Healthcare Needs Euthanasia (audacityoven.com)
- Health insurance deadline looms without decisions (kansascity.com)
- 1 in 5 struggle to pay medical bills, but it’s getting better (vitals.nbcnews.com)
- CDC: One In Five Americans Can’t Pay Medical Bills (wibw.com)
- Long Struggle Ahead for Medicaid Expansion Advocates in Texas (newamericamedia.org)
- Big Percentage Of Families Struggle With Medical Bills, CDC Survey Reveals (huffingtonpost.com)
Case in point….my fiancĂ©e cannot afford health insurance. His employer does not provide it and even has found ways to avoid providing it. I receive Medicaid, but social services keeps insisting despite his meager earning and we are far below the poverty line, that he makes too much to receive Medicaid. But he cannot afford traditional insurance because of his low salary each week. He of all people need it because his knees require replacement and all his teeth are rotten and falling out and he has actually pulled some of them out himself because he is in excruciating pain. Because of lack of funds and health insurance he has not seen a doctor nor a dentist in twenty some years. I fear he will die. I often wonder how bad his heart his and the rest of his body because his teeth are so bad. He is 36 and severally underweight for a man of 5’8″…he is 135 and he keeps losing weight. It frightens me badly but I feel there is nothing we can do. We couldn’t even afford a burial if he dies our finances are that strapped and we are behind on every bill and rent…more undue stress…
That is my greatest issue with all of the cheers and pushing to enforce this healthcare program. It will be the working class. Those who are scraping by who will pay the price. They can barely pay their bills and will never be able to afford the price of health insurance. Yet not poor enough by government standards to qualify. As the article I posted from Forbes the Democrats are happy that the premiums will double because it does not affect them. However, it is only when they feel it , when it affects themselves or their loved ones that something will be done. Until then it is an attack on the working middle class.
Most of these politicians are so removed from the daily struggles that the working class must undergo that they actually believe that middle class is $250,000.00 per year. How ridiculous is that, especially in today’s economy? They are out of touch with our reality because they have money and financial security. They will never be able to understand. The standards that they have set for eligibility speaks volumes. The only ones who can qualify are those who have absolutely nothing , or lie and say they have nothing.
There is a book that is free online I can get you the link to the pdf if you are interested. It is “Where There Is No Dentist”. Not sure how far gone your fiance is , but I have studied herbalism and I am a Reiki/Seichim/Quantum Touch Master and if I can help in any way , please let me know. I would be more than happy to do what I can. I understand your situation as I am there. Struggling every month to make sure all the bills are aid and there is food in the pantry. It’s not easy and sometimes little things can make the difference.