Article: Even Insured Can Face Crushing Medical Debt, Study Finds

iPoop

Forum Moderator

Joined : Aug 2012

Posts : 16483

Posted 1/5/2016 9:25 PM (GMT 0)

Just read this and it got my blood boiling, many of us have been here before, for sure. Being sick in the USA totally sucks.

New York Times: Even Insured Can Face Crushing Medical Debt, Study Finds
www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/upshot/lost-jobs-houses-savings-even-insured-often-face-crushing-medical-debt.html

A new survey, the first detailed study of Americans struggling with medical bills, shows that insurance often fails as a safety net.

Of the people in the survey reporting difficulty with their medical bills, 34 percent lacked health insurance, 39 percent had insurance through work, 14 percent were covered through public programs, and 7 percent had purchased their own health plans.

Medical Problems Lead to Financial Sacrifices
People who reported problems paying medical bills in the last year told pollsters they’d done the following:

insured vs uninsured

77% 64% Put off vacations, major purchases
75% 62% Cut back on household spending
63% 51% Used up all or most of savings
42% 40% Taken an extra job or worked more hours
38% 24% Increased credit card debt
37% 38% Borrowed money from friends or family
34% 39% Been unable to pay for food, heat, housing
15% 12% Borrowed money from a payday lender
14% 23% Changed living situation, such as moving
11% 15% Sought the aid of a charity or nonprofit

DBwithUC

Veteran Member

Joined : Feb 2011

Posts : 4545

Posted 1/5/2016 10:11 PM (GMT 0)

I agree that medical costs are too high for such a rich country. People n other countries often get better care and pay much less.

But the table of percentages is statistical malpractice. Someone should lose their job.

That is the percentage of people who reported having problems. Only 20% of insured people reported having problems, while 53% of uninsured people reported having problems.

so that 77% vs 64% putting off vacations is 77% of 20% and 64% of 53% - BIG DIFFERENCE. As stated it looks like insured people had more struggle than uninsured.

A corrected table is:

15% 34% Put off vacations, major purchases
15% 33% Cut back on household spending
13% 27% Used up all or most of savings
8% 21% Taken an extra job or worked more hours
8% 13% Increased credit card debt
7% 20% Borrowed money from friends or family
7% 21% Been unable to pay for food, heat, housing
3% 6% Borrowed money from a payday lender
3% 12% Changed living situation, such as moving
2% 8% Sought the aid of a charity or nonprofit

Then when you figure insured people facing lower costs are more likely to incur the bill in the first place, while many uninsured people defer care (don't get a bill) unless it is absolutely necessary. If you figure that, the benefit of insurance would be even more pronounced.

So only 2% of insured people sought charity help, and 4 times am many uninsured (8%) had to seek charity help.

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