Health care loans

1. For years, KFF polls have shown that high health care costs are a burden for U.S. families, and that health care costs factor into decisions about insurance coverage and care. This cost ranks as a top financial concern. This data note summarizes recent KFF polls on the public's experience with health care costs. Key takeaways include: Healthcare
2. About half of US adults say they have difficulty affording health care. With four in ten US adults saying they delayed or went without medical care in the past year because of cost, dental services are the most common type of care adults report skipping because of cost.
3. Health care costs often prevent people from getting the care they need or filling prescriptions. About one-quarter of adults said they or their family members didn't fill a prescription, cut a pill in half or skip a dose of medication because of cost, whose older partners were from low-income, black households. and Hispanic adults, and women reporting this Healthcare
4. Healthcare debt is a burden for a large portion of Americans. Four in ten (41%) have debt due to medical or dental bills, including debts owed to credit cards, collection agencies, family and friends, banks and other creditors to cover health care costs, with a disproportionate share among black and Hispanic adults, women , parents, low-income, and uninsured adults say they have health care debt. Paying for gasoline and transportation costs is now a top concern for Americans, followed by unexpected medical bills. Although concerns about gasoline and transportation costs have increased significantly since 2020, significant shares of adults still say they worry about unexpected bills, deductibles and medical expenses, such as paying for long-term care services, for themselves or family members.

1. Difficulty affording medical expenses

Many American adults have trouble affording health care. While low-income and uninsured adults are the most likely to report this, those with health insurance and those with higher incomes are less likely than one in ten white adults (39%) to report difficulty accessing health care. Adults with annual incomes below $40,000 are three times more likely than adults in households with incomes above $90,000 to have health care problems (69% v. 21%). (Source: KFF Healthcare Debt Survey: February-March 2022)

2. Prescription drug costs

For many US adults, prescription drugs are another component of their routine care. One in four people who currently take prescription drugs say they have trouble affording them, including nearly a third of those who take four or more prescription drugs (33%) and those with annual incomes below $40,000 (32%) and four in ten Hispanics. Adults.

Including, most notably, gasoline and other transportation costs. With this comes concerns about being able to a

Conclusion

In June 2022, KFF released an analysis of the KFF Health Care Debt Survey, a collaborative report by KHN and NPR, an investigative journalism project on health care debt conducted by Diagnosis Debt. The project found that healthcare debt is a widespread problem in the U.S., and 41% of U.S. adults currently have some type of debt due to medical or dental bills for their own or someone else's care, with nearly one-quarter of adults having some. Form of loan. (24%) who say they have medical or dental bills that are past due or unable to pay, and one (21%) of those who have bills are paying a provider directly over time. One in six (17%) report outstanding debt from loans taken out to a bank, collection agency or other creditor to pay medical or dental bills, while a similar share say they have and have paid off health care debt from bills placed on credit. cards Time being (17%). One in ten give money to a family member or friend to pay medical or dental bills.

fford these costs. A March 2022 KFF Health Tracking Poll found that ability