The
poll results outlined below indicate the Americans are:
Experiencing increased medical insurance costs
Skipping treatment because of costs
Have problems paying medical bills - even with insurance
Don't have enough money to obtain insurance
Many adults report experiencing rising health care costs. Two-thirds (66%) of those with health insurance say their premiums have increased over the past five years, including 38% who say premiums have gone up "a lot". Around half of insured adults say their co-payments for provider visits (51%) and health insurance deductibles (49%) have risen in the same period.
According to Kaisar Health (the some group who commissioned and reported the poll) the average annual cost of health insurance for a single person is $3695 and the average annual cost for a family is $9950. According to the Census Bureau median income in the US was $44,389 in 2004, making payments for a single person 8% of income and payments for a family 22% of income. Typically, the employer and employee share the expense. But as the poll indicates, the employee is now paying a larger percentage of health care costs through increasing insurance payments and increased deductibles.
Medical bills pose a significant challenge for many. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of adults report problems paying medical bills within the past year, and more than six in ten of these (61%) have health insurance. One in five adults (21%) reports currently having an overdue medical bill, and almost as many (19%) report experiencing serious financial consequences in the past five years due to medical bills. A similar share (18%) say health care costs are their biggest monthly expense excluding rent or mortgage payments.
A clear majority of people with health insurance had a problem paying medical bills. This begs the questions - what is the actual purpose of having insurance if you're still going to have problems paying bills after using your insurance policy?
In addition, 20% of respondents had an overdue medical bill, and 19% had "serious financial consequences as a result of a medical problem. Let's think about this. Getting sick - something that happens to everybody at some time - can cause financial problems. Wow. This is a great system, isn't it?
Health care costs create significant obstacles to obtaining health care for many people. Nearly three in ten adults (28%) report a time in the past year when they did not have enough money to pay for medical or health care.
It's all about money. If you don't have enough, well, tough luck.
Among the uninsured, cost is the most often cited reason for lacking coverage. Seven in ten (70%) uninsured adults say that cost is the main reason they are uninsured. Just six percent say they don't have insurance because they don't need it.
This completely kills the RWNM argument that people who don't have insurance don't want it. The bottom line is it's about cost.
So, let's recap:
Insurance costs are increasing
Insurance costs can lead to major financial problems.
No insurance coverage is mostly a function of income.
Thank-god US medical coverage is so damn great, huh?