Over A Quarter Of Americans Have Trouble Paying Their Medical Bills

Recent research from the Kaiser Family Foundation has revealed that just over a quarter of American adults (ages 18-64) say they or someone in their household struggled to pay their medical bills over the past 12 months. These payment problems impact all kinds of people, regardless of household income or insurance status.

Statistics and facts about health insurance in the United States

Health insurance is a term commonly used to describe any program that helps in the payment of medical expenses. There are a number of forms of health insurance that exist in the United States; the main forms include varieties of private and public coverage. There are social welfare programs such as Medicaid in place in order to provide assistance to people who are unable to afford health coverage. Despite such programs, the number of people without health insurance in the United States is still worryingly high. Data from the 2010 census showed that those in the United States who were unable to obtain medical care when required had a 40 percent higher chance of death than those without health insurance. Although the problems and dangers associated with being uninsured affect all Americans, the percentage of uninsured people belonging to ethnic minorities is considerably higher, amounting to nearly double the national average among Hispanics in 2011.

A survey carried out among Americans in 2012 that dealt with the most urgent health problems facing the United States and the world placed concerns around health insurance costs and the uninsured above HIV and malnutrition respectively.

This chart shows the percentage saying they/someone in their household struggled to pay medical bills in the past year.

 
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