A growing number of working-age Americans are struggling to pay their medical bills or have gone into debt because of high medical expenses, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.
In 2007, 41% of U.S. adults aged younger than 65 reported having medical bill problems or medical debt, versus 34% in 2005. The problem is growing across all income groups but is most common among low- and moderate-income individuals, where more than half reported being unable to pay their medical bills, being contacted by a collection agency about an unpaid medical bill, significantly changing their way of life to pay a medical bill, or paying off medical debt over time.
As health care costs have risen, employers have struggled to provide employee health insurance, leading some to drop coverage or increase employee cost sharing, said Sara R. Collins, Ph.D., lead author of the report and assistant vice president at the Commonwealth Fund.
At the same time, most Americans are facing relatively stagnant wages and rising prices for food and gas, Dr. Collins said during a press briefing.
The findings are based on the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey, a nationally representative telephone survey conducted in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007. The 2007 data come from an analysis of survey responses from 2,616 adults aged under 65 obtained between June and October 2007.
About 34% of adults who were uninsured at the time of the survey reported owing $4,000 or more in medical bills, compared with 20% of those who were insured.
Both insured and uninsured Americans are spending more out of pocket for their care. In 2007, 48% of Americans aged 19–64 years spent 5% or more of their income annually on out-of-pocket costs and premiums, up from 41% in 2001.
And 33% of working-age Americans spent 10% or more annually on these out-of-pocket medical expenses, compared with 21% in 2001.